Secret of the Whirlpool Country
by InfestedByPurple
Summary: He learns of his destroyed heritage that lives a secret existence. It invites him to come with a girl. None of them realize that the boy and her are more alike than they realize, all the way down to what has been sealed inside of them. NaruHina prolouge
1. Proluoge 1: Preparations

**!!EDIT!! **

**IF YOU WANT TO GET STRAIGHT TO THE PART WITH NARUTO IN IT, PLEASE SKIP AHEAD TO CHAPTER 8: THE END OF THE BEGINNING. THAT IS THE FIRST CHAPTER WITH BOTH THIRTEEEN YEAR OLD NARUTO AND HINATA IN IT. OTHERWISE, IF YOU WANT TO KNOW KUSHINA'S HISTORY (THAT IS HIS MOTHER), PLEASE SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE STORY! (Her story is any chapter that has the word prolouge in it's name.)**

**This was a challenge from fellow author VFSNAKE. This story will take a long time as will my other ones, so don't be a ditherspaz if I don't update this or any of my 2 other stories because having 3 stories at one time, try to or writing each chapter to be nice and long is kinda hard, don't cha think? So now, sit back and enjoy the first part of the challenge, The Secret of Whirlpool Country!**

**Disclaimer; I don't own Naruto or anything relating except my OCs and what happens, though what happens kinda belongs to VFSNAKE. ;)**

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**Chapter 1: Preparations**

Uzumaki Tsuzei slammed his old withered fist down on the table. "I will not put our only grandchild in such danger! How could you even suggest such a thing Shisuse?"

Shisuse gave her husband a hard look. "Do you want the Uzumaki Clan to die? We are small, but do you remember our heritage? We are the ones skilled with the sword, the fury of water, and the descendants of Beowulf! Do you know what that will mean when he comes here to destroy us? To wipe us out? If Kushina goes to Konoha, then our blood will survive if we don't! That's reason enough to send her. Besides, the Third Hokage has already agreed to take her in and has arranged an ANBU escort." She folded her arms and leaned back. "She must be ready at all times."

The Uzumaki clan meeting was in a heated debate over their future. To date, Kushina was the only child fit to go anywhere and start over their whole life. For that reason, she was picked to leave for Konoha in a moments notice when a young but still strong Pain came looking for power to help avenge and protect his friends and family. The Uzumakis, famous for their unbeatable swordsmanship, was ideal for power hunters, for if they learned and became masters of it, they would be practically invincible on the battlefield with sword in hand. It seemed that Pain was moving towards them every passing day, as news and locations of various battles involving him came closer and closer.

Tsuzei sighed. "Alright I give in, but one question: Why Konoha? There are plenty of other locations to send Kushina to."

Myuri, another elder explained to him. "Tsuzei, Konoha is perfect. One, because it is the strongest village there is. Two, because there are thousands of children in it and it would be impossible to find much less tell which one was Kushina. Three, there are many boys in Konoha that will grow up to be strong suitable husbands and fathers to her children. Does that satisfy you?"

The clan head nodded reluctantly. "I guess."

"Right then. So is this meeting dismissed?" asked Shisuse.

* * *

Kushina's door slid open. "Kushina, its Shisuse-baa-chan. May I come in?"

"Shisuse-baa-chan!" A little red-headed girl flew to her grandma. Then she noticed her elders sad face. "What's wrong Obaa-chan?" she asked in that adorable way of hers.

Shisuse shook her head sadly. "Come. Let's go into the garden."

Outside, they sat down on a bench facing the koi pool underneath the Sakura trees. "Kushina my dear, this is hard to say but…"

Shisuse turned away from her granddaughter. "You're leaving for Konoha sometime…soon. It might be at any time of day over the next few days but," she hugged Kushina. "You're leaving. For good. Once you go you won't be able to come back."

Kushina's eyes widened as she heard what her grandma way saying. "Shisuse baa-chan no! I don't wanna go! I wanna stay here with you and Daddy-kun and Mommy-chan! And everyone else! Why do I have to go? It's not fair!" She pulled away and sobbed into her knees. "Why why why…" She looked up hopefully. "C-can I at least come and visit? Or you come and visit me? Please?"

Shisuse shook her head sadly. "No, Kushina. No. You won't ever see anyone ever again." She hugged the shocked, sobbing child tighter than ever, all the while rocking back and forth. "I'm sorry I'm sorry, shh my darling… I wish it could be different too. I mean who's going to help me make rice balls for dinner?" Shisuse chuckled at the end, trying to lighten the mood.

It didn't help. Kushina clutched her grandmother even harder and cried harder. She didn't want to believe that in a few days time, she would have to leave everything behind; her friends, her family, everything she knew, and start anew, not knowing anybody or anything.

After the child stopped crying, she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "Shisuse-baa-chan, why am I leaving?"

"Kushina, that I cannot tell you. But what I can tell you is that if you go, the Uzumaki clan will survive."

"Is someone coming to do bad things to us Baa-chama?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"His name is…Pain."

* * *

(At the meeting the next day)

"We know that Nyazu-san, Jomi-san, Rito-san and Karitan-san can fight and their wives too, but what about us? The Elders? I believe we should go into the secret chamber under the main house since we aren't exactly young anymore and we don't have the strength we once used to have. Also, if Kushina has children, she won't be able to teach them anything because she never learned anything herself and we know all the clan Kinjutsu. For the survival of the knowledge, I suggest we go and hide when he comes. When we hear that she and her children are both of age, we will send for them and teach them the ways."

Myuri stood up in his seat. "I am not old! Well, yes I am… but I still have as much strength as the younger ones!" He pointed an accusing finger at Tsuzei. "I can fight!"

Shisuse sighed. "Myuri-san, calm down. Don't let your temper get in the way of logic. You know you don't have a chance against Pain. By the reports we have, he is considered very strong. I have a feeling that the younger ones might not have a chance."

Myuri, still a child at heart, sat down, leaned back, crossed his arms and huffed. "Fine."

"Now, is Kushina packed?"

"Yes Tsuzei-san. She is ready to go at any moment. She and I packed her bags yesterday after I told her." Shisuse replied.

"God will I miss her." Tsuzei buried his face in his palms.

"We all will." Everybody's faces immediately were downcast remembering the fond memoreies they had of the little girl.

* * *

"Daddy-kun! C-can I sleep-p w-with you a-and M-Mommy-chan tonight? Just this one time?" the red head turned her hopeful green eyes from her feet to her blonde father. Nyazu smiled sadly at his daughter, knowing exactly why she asked.

"Of course Kushina-chan. Of course you can."

That night, Kushina climbed into bed with her parents. It would be the fondest and last memory that she ever had of them, for it was the last full night the four-year old girl would ever spend with her mother and father.

* * *

**A/N: So that was the first chapter. I hoped you liked it. If you are wondering, 'Baa-chan' means grandma in Japanese. Also, if you would like to be my beta for my other Naruto story, Hidden Art, PM me. And a cookie and a brownie for eveyone who reviews!**

**Next chapter: Kushina leaves her clan forever, and her clan leaves the world at the hands of a madman.**

**USD**


	2. Prolouge 2: Exit Dream, Enter Nightmare

**A/N: Wow! I'm suprised and love all of you who reviewed, put me on watch or made me a favorite! Thank you! I never expected to get such a positive reaction!**

**Long delay in between chapters, I know but please bear with me! I will put off but not discontinue Hidden Art, so I can write this. I really can't say anymore until you read this chappie, so the rest of the a/n is at the bottom. so R+R and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. If he was, I would glomp him to death.**

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* * *

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**Chapter 2-Exit Dream, Enter a Nightmare**

_She was in a dark void, where there was no concept of time, distance or direction. It was an endless black confusion. The little girl felt very alone. She tried to cry out but when she opened her mouth, no sound came. She reached out, but grabbed a handful of nothing. She was scared._

_Suddenly, her whole family appeared right before her eyes. Her mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, all of them were there. She tried to run to them, but they seemed to fade away as the smiled. As suddenly as they came, they vanished._

'NO!'

Kushina shot up, breathing hard. Making sure her parents were still there, she felt for them. Nyazu-kun still on her left, Izumi-chan still on her right. 'It was just a dream. Just a really bad dream.'

Izumi opened her eyes partway. "Kushina –chan? Are you awake? Go back to sleep. You're a growing girl, you need your rest." The girl did as she was told, but something kept her awake. It was awhile before she fell into a fitful sleep.

_A man and a woman, dressed in black cloaks with high collars, looked out from the top of a cliff, their eyes hidden by straw hats. "So that's where they are." He studied the complex of traditional buildings. "We will go tomorrow. They will help us…

* * *

_

(Same moment, a few miles away)

"…or they will die." Pain turned and walked away into the trees. "Are you coming, Konan?" The young woman took one last look and followed her companion.

* * *

Tsuzei was working at his desk when the doors slammed open and the head guard came in. "Tsuzei-sama! Two figures inn black cloaks are at the gates and they demand a council with you immediately!" 

'Oh shit. It's them.' "Take them to the meeting room. But first, inform every man and every woman and every other able bodied fighter to arm themselves with their swords and to guard all of the exits of the clan buildings. Take all of the elders and put them in the secret chamber. And tell my dear Kushina to come here as quick as possible." Sadness was evident in his words.

"Hai Tsuzei-sama." The guard ran out.

'I pray to Kami that we can beat them.'

Five minutes later in the council meeting room, a young man and a young woman in those sinister black cloaks sat across from the clan head. The woman had light purple colored hair and a white origami rose in her hair. No emotion could be seen in her eyes. Her partner, on the other hand, had black hair that hung down in front of his face since his head was bent. The sight of two entire opposites made the elder seem nervous. 'Kushina, please make it out alive.'

The woman spoke first. "Uzumaki-san, we request that you and your clan teach us the ways of your sword so that we too may become strong."

Tsuzei knew his answer immediately. "Why should I let you? You two seem strong enough as it is."

This time, the man spoke. "Because we are on a mission together, one to bring the world to peace. This training will help us destroy the enemies of the world."

"And cause more trouble and destruction in the process? I think not."

* * *

"Birdy-kun, where are we?" the little girl asked in a very loud whisper. 

"We're in one of the secret paths to your clan's compound." replied the ANBU captain in the falcon mask. Three other ANBU, a cat, a toad, and a fox were also part of the team. The cat carried Kushina's possessions while the other two carried the team's gear.

"Almost there." As the captain spoke, a ring of light could be seen up ahead. When they were right next too it, they saw it was a large boulder covering some sort of secret entrance to the tunnel. The falcon, remembering what Tsuzei had told him to open the entrance, closed his eyes and began to feel the rock. He finally found the chakra holes in it after a while, and pushed chakra into his fingers. The boulder immediately began to move out of the way to open the exit and the captain removed his fingers.

The little girl was awestruck. "Wow Birdy-kun, how'd you do that?" She had seen clan members train and use chakra before but she had never seen someone move a giant rock by simply poking it.

The falcon chuckled. "Oh just a little trick your grandfather taught me." Then, he stepped outside into the sun, feeling refreshed at the feel of the breeze through his silver-white hair. He noticed that the girl hadn't moved an inch from where he had left her, head turned to the ground and long red hair hiding her eyes. Being the kind to care about his teammates and making such mission's second priority, he placed his hand on the little girl's shoulder. "I'm Sorry. Did I make you feel bad?"

Tears could be seen running down her face. "I-I-Its just, I-I won't see him ever again. Or Mommy-chan, o-or Daddy-kun." She fell to her knees. "I m-miss them already."

Falcon picked up her and whispered in her ear, "Remember the times you and your family had together. Remember them and they will always be with you." He swung the girl onto his back. Then, taking a great leap, the group sped off into the trees towards Kushina's future.

* * *

"I told you, our answer is no! We will not teach you the Uzumaki Kenbu-Do! That is final!" 

"Fine then. You must die." Pain summoned a strange creature about the size of the head house. It had the head of a cat, with piercings along the bridge of its nose and the edge of its ears; the body was that of a goats and the tail was like a lizard's, which too had piercings all along it. He jumped atop its head and formed a few seals. "Are you ready?"

They were outside in the courtyard. 21 Uzumakis, warriors and students alike, surrounded the two people threatening to destroy their clan. Each one wielded a mightily sword, whether it be huge like one of the Seven swordsmen of the Mist, or long and thin like the standard Katana. The most interesting thing about these swords however, was the uniqueness to the person using it. Each sword was designed specifically for that person and their elemental type, carved with the clan symbol, the spiral, surrounded by writing and intricate designs. When a master would use their sword, the body and the blade became one. A singe one would cost a fortune.

Tsuzei summoned his sword using a scroll in his pocket. This sword, out of all of the displayed ones, was the most unique. It looked like a standard sword you would fid in medieval Europe, but without a hilt. The blade slid freely through the handle unless he put his fingers on the holes in the handle, like a flute, thus a very difficult sword to use and even harder to master. H let the blade hang down and looked at his opponent on his mount, shaking his head. "I am not. We all are."

"Then let us begin." Pain summoned up his own weapon, a curved blade on a chain, and began to swing it above his head. Upon completing the last seal, he uttered, "Ikimo Gei: Kasai Tsume." The creature he was on suddenly burst into flames, although they did not harm Pain. Just before it began to attack, four Uzumakis, some using their swords, some not, used various Water Jutsu's and soaked the cat-beast, which immediately disappeared in a cloud of smoke and pain landed on the ground. He swung the chain blade in a large circle at the fighters. One of them, a student, caught the weapon with his sword and yanked. Pain did not budge and pulled back on the chain on his weapon, swiftly pulling the Uzumaki to his death.

The body fell to the ground, leaking blood everywhere. One boy, the best friend of the one that just died, cried out "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Immediately, 6 clones appeared next to him. They all charged at Pain, but he used his eyes, the Rin'negan, to easily pick out the real one. Throwing a kunai at the real one he jumped to the side to avoid the oncoming clones and threw a handful of shuriken at their backs to destroy them. Meanwhile, even if he did not see her, he shoved the blade of his weapon into the body of a warrior who was attacking from behind. The fray had started.

Tsuzei knew enough to not approach Pain or his female partner, who was engaged with some others, directly, as this would surely be a fast death for him, as the pre-Akatsuki members had demonstrated. He circled the battle as did another, who would jump into the fight when it turned critical, but neither saw each other.

Within the first two minutes, most of the younger, more eager, less experienced fighters had fallen, even if they had the legendary sword skills. The adults and masters were holding their own, though two had already gone, whether they had made one wrong step or were too slow by a split second.

Pain had had enough of this child's play. He jumped extremely high, long enough for a long chain of hand seals. "Raiko Butai: Kaminari no Amanohara!" he yelled. A large lightning bolt came down on every fighter directly beneath him, killing everyone except the two circling the scene. Nobody had enough time to react, not even enough make a single hand seal it was so quick.

The remaining Uzumakis stood there, dumbstruck at what had just happened. 'How could one so young have so much power? That technique alone would leave me tired!' then Tsuzei remembered something from the meeting earlier in the council room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"And cause more trouble and destruction in the process? I think not."

Pain lifted his head. The hair previously obscuring his eyes revealed them to be the Rin'negan, the eyes of the very first Shinobi from which all Ninjustu originated. 'I though they were a legend. They're actually real.' Those mysterious eyes stared into the deep blue of the clan leader's.

"Please do not deny me or my partner this training. Do you not want peace in this world?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'So that's how.' Then it suddenly hit him. 'Shit. We don't have a chance.' Tsuzei, in secret, created an Earth Bunshin and had the clone slowly approach Pain. The two fought longer than expected, both using Taijutsu and Ninjutsu constantly. Pain did not use the Lightning Jutsu again, as he knew that the old man would block it, or what he thought was the old man.

That other Uzumaki, the one who did not fight, was not seen. They had cast a weak Genjutsu around where they were standing to keep themselves concealed.

Finally, after a while of fighting, Pain managed to chop off the man's head, only to discover it crumbled to the ground. "Rasengan!" He spun around quickly to see a bright blue ball of spinning chakra, which slammed into his chest, forcing him to the ground. Sliding the blade of his sword to the ground, Tsuzei place his fingers in the holes in the handle and brought it down to where the Rasengan hit to finish off the boy. It sunk half-way through and stopped.

Suddenly, a blade protruded from the old man's stomach. His eyes widened. 'B-but…how? I didn't sense him.'

Before he had a chance to speculate, he fell to his knees and went face first into the ground, his body motionless. Uzumaki Tsuzei was dead.

Pain yanked his weapon from the bloody figure. "A simple clone. That's all it was." And walked away. "We're done here Konan. Let's go."

* * *

Kushina sat in a tree, watching the moon. In her hands she held a small daisy. The girl absentmindedly began to pick the petals off slowly, releasing each one into the breeze. When she was about to pluck the last one off, she looked down and stopped herself. A wind picked up and blew the last petal off. The little girl watched it go and a sudden sense of loss overcame her.

* * *

**A/N: This was the longest I have ever written, but I know its nothing compared to what I have read. Ok,**

**Question one: Who do you think the Falcon masked ANBU was?**

**Question two: Did you not like it when Tsuzei died? (I'm sorry! I tried to avoid doing so but I couldn't! So please don't flame me! Or kill me!)**

**Question three: Who do you think the other Uzumaki was, the one that did a Genjustu to hide themselves?**

**Question four: Were you suprised when Tsuzei knew Rasengan?(There's a reason why I did that.)**

**I will include a dictionary of Justus I create and japanese words at the end of each chapter. The translations are literal. No grammar.**

**Jutsu Dictionary:**

**Ikimo Gei: Kasai Tsume- Animal Art: Fire Claw -This Justsu requires a non-human summon. The Summmon and the summoner will burst into flames, but they will not be hurt by them. Any others who touch it will be burned, thus dealing extra damage.**

**Raiko Butai: Kaminari no Amanohara- Lightning Element: Thunder of the Heavens- Many bolts of lightning are called down from the sky to strike the opponent with over 1000V of energy, instantly killing the struck person.**

**Japanese Dictionary:**

**Kenbu-Do: Way of the Dancing Sword**

**Also, for Tsuzei's sword: If you have seen Seven swords, one of those chinese movies, you would know exactly what the sword looked like. If you haven't seen the movie, watch it because the sword is the one that the woman has. **

**OK SINCE VFSNAKE IF SO ANGRY AT ME (gives angry glare back) I WILL GIVE HIM HIS PROPS AS MY BETA FOR THIS STORY! VFSNAKE IS MY OFFICIAL BETA FOR THIS STORY! THERE I SAID IT! (and I had to repost this chapter to say it!)**

**Next Chapter: Less Uzumaki clan, more Kushina in Konoha. There, she meets a certain blonde.**

**Cookies and brownies to everbody who reviews! And some candy for Halloween!**

**USD**


	3. Prolouge 3: The Future Hokage

**A/N: I realized when I was writing this chapter that what I write will shape what everybody's view of Kushina. It's really kinda scary.**

**If some of you missed the announcement before, VFSNAKE is my beta and now he can't get mad at me. :P**

**There were some questions last time. **

**1) narutofan1465- Will this be all about Naruto's mom or will you be going AU and retelling Naruto's childhood?**

**I will respond to the first part with a question to the readers and reviewers: Do you want me to write quick little glimpses of her childhood and the beginning of her ninja career and that too, or do you want me to write out her whole life story? I can go either way. It's up to you.**

**The second part: Read the story description. It says AFTER the Chuunin exams so then I won't be going AU. I'll just leave Naruto's childhood as is then I will start in between the Exams and Sasuke Retieval (Sasuke will still escape).**

**2) Belle-san- Will this story follow Kushina or Naruto? I'm assuming that Naruto is still oblivious to his heratage.**

**This story will follow bolth parties. It will transfer over to the other part when I'm done writing Kushina's part.Yes he is oblivious to his father's side but not his mother's when he gets the letter to the Uzumaki clan.**

**Thats all the questions I got, so hopefully, it awnsered some of yours too. Now R+R and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: 1- I'm not Japanese. 2- I'm not a guy. 3-Therefore I cannot own Naruto.**

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**Chapter 3 – The Future Hokage**

The silver haired ANBU Captain looked up at the huge gates, one word reverberated in his head.

'Home,' thought the ANBU.

"Hey! Open up!" He yelled up to the guards. The doors slowly began to open to admit the team to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

When Kushina saw the sheer size of the gates she was amazed. When she saw what was inside though, her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

The group entered. "Welcome, Kushina, to Konoha."

This was much more than the girl had imagined. The local village was small; It had a few restaurants, various stores and even a small brothel. Here, everywhere you looked, there were dango stalls, restaurants, shops of every kind, anything and everything you could imagine, it was here. Unfortunately for her, this was only the front of the "village".

Once they were at the other side, Kushina saw the tallest building she had ever seen, the Hokage tower, but what had made her nearly faint was that there were three faces carved into the cliff face above.

Falcon stood behind the frozen child and put a hand on her head. "Magnificent, isn't it?"

"I…bu-…s-…wh-…"

He chuckled at her loss for words. "Come on. You must come and see Hokage-sama."

Up in the Hokage's office, Kushina saw a middle aged man sitting behind a desk, doing paperwork.

"Hokage-sama" The ANBU team bowed.

The Hokage looked up and rose form his seat. The little girl noticed that somehow, this man's face and the third face on the cliff was the same man.

"The mission was a success, I suppose?" said the Hokage at the ANBU

"Hai, Hokage-sama," said the ANBU nodding his head.

The man then looked down at the girl, a small smile on his face. "Kushina, isn't it?" he squatted down to her eye level. "My name is Sarutobi. I am the Hokage of Konoha and I will do what I can to make you happy here, Kushina." He stood up. "You are all dismissed, but leave her belonging here."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." The four ANBU disappeared in a cloud of ninja smoke.

The Hokage took the girl's smaller hand in his larger one. "Come. I'll show you to your room that you'll be staying in for tonight. Then, I'll give you a tour of the village. Tomorrow, you'll meet the family that has adopted you." He summoned up a group of ninja chimpanzees. "Each of you take a bag and follow us to her room. After that, you guys can go." The primates gave an affirmative nod and picked up a bag each.

A few minutes later, near the top of the tower, Sarutobi unlocked and opened the door to Kushina's temporary room. Inside, it wasn't very big, a bed, a full bathroom, a tiny kitchen and a living area, but the view made up for that, It looked out over the while village and you could just barely see the gates in between the buildings.

The girl zoomed over to the sliding glass door that led to the balcony. Kushina yanked the door open, ran out, leaned over the railing and screamed with delight.

Passersby on the ground gave odd looks upwards at the Hokage tower, wondering what on earth was going on up there.

Sarutobi smiled when he saw her approval. " I guess you like your room, don't you?"

She turned around, eyes twinkling. "Yeah yeah yeah yeah!"

"Now, why don't we go on that tour?"

Kushina's response was to run out the door, pulling the Hokage along by the hand.

Downstairs, outside and safely on the ground, the expedition began. "Ok Kushina," Sarutobi gestured toward the Hokage faces." This is the memorial to the current and past Hokage's. A Hokage is the leader of Konoha and also is the most powerful ninja in the village. I am the third Hokage, also known as the Sandaime. My face is the third on the cliff." The girl absorbed all of this information with a hunger. "The tower is the Hokage tower, the office of the Hokage and mission briefing and debriefing rooms." He took her hand once again, like a father would do to their child. "There's much more to Konoha than Hokage's you know. Let's go and see the rest of it." And the pair started off.

They went up and down the streets, Sarutobi pointing out a good restaurant or two, ninja gear stores and some of those odd stores too. They passed clan complexes, likes the Hyuuga, Uchiha, Akimichi and such, the Sandaime giving a small history about each.

"I have a question for you, Kushina."

"What is it?"

"Do you want to become a ninja?"

This caught her off guard. "O-of course! I want to be like my mommy and daddy and be strong!"

They had rounded a corner and were looking at the Ninja Academy. "Then, when you're 8, you will go there to learn how to be one. That two years from now." He looked to horizon. "The sun is going down. We better get back to the tower. I have some paperwork I need to get done."

They were passing Ichiraku Ramen when,

"Erm, Sarutobi-kun? I'm hungry."

He looked at the stand. "Does ramen sound good to you?"

"I have no idea what that is, but I guess I'll try it." Came the reply.

Inside, "Two miso ramen's please."

A blonde boy sat down on the stool next to Kushina." One shrimp ramen please Mr. Ichiraku!"

Sarutobi recognized the voice. "Minato, you need to stop using you allowance for ramen. I'm going to tell your mother soon."

Minato jumped. "S-Sarutobi-san! I didn't see you there," said Minato acting a little sheepish at being caught by the Fire Shadow.

Kushina looked at the boy. He had messy blonde hair, a loud obnoxious voice and a smile that could lighten up anybody's day. Yet, there was something about him. Maybe it was those eyes, those bright sky blue eyes. She really couldn't tell.

"Here's your ramen Hokage –san and here's yours, little miss." A young Teuchi set the two bowls down in front of them.

"Hey, who are you?" Minato had finally noticed Kushina after seeing two bowls being set down, not one.

"My name's Kushina. I'm new here. Sarutobi kun showed me the village today," said Kushina before she broke her chopsticks, and started on her ramen.

Cautiously lifting the noodles to her mouth, she took a slow bite. A light suddenly went off in her head. "Wow, this stuff is really good!"

"You mean you've never had ramen before?" Minato asked innocently as the girl inhaled the rest of her bowl. His was placed in front of him and he started.

"Mmm Nnn." She managed to get out from bulging cheeks. Kushina swallowed the rest of her ramen and continued. "Back home, we never had any sort of fast food. Mommy-chan said it was something about being unhealthy."

Minato suddenly had an idea. "Hey, Sarutobi-san? Can I take Kushina-chan here around Konoha? Give her my own tour?"

"Of course. Just get her back here to my office at sunset."

The blonde ramen-addict shoved the rest of his noodles down his throat and pulled Kushina from her stool outside onto the street and they started walking.

"First of all, what did Sarutobi-san show you already?"

"Well, he showed me some clans like the Uchiha, I think it was called, something like that. The only cool thing he showed me was the Ninja Academy. He told me I can go there when I'm bigger and learn how to become a ninja! I'm going to go, no matter what!"

"Really? Me too! But he hasn't shown you any of the cool hidden spots in the village?"

"No."

"Great! I've been everywhere, so I know where they are and I've also found a few myself."

Kushina jumped up and down. "Show me!"

He smirked. "Just keep up."

"Hey, I was the fastest of all the kids back home. If I can beat them, I can beat you."

"Oh really? We'll see about that!" And Minato took off.

"Hey that's not fair!" Even if he didn't use what few ninja skills he had, he was well on his way to earning his future nickname, the Yellow Flash.

* * *

"I don't hear anything else going on up there. One of you go and check it out." 

Myuri raised his hand. "I'll go."

When he was outside, he couldn't believe his eyes. There were bodies everywhere. Tsuzei laid in the middle of it all, his corpse bloody and broken. Speechless, Myuri ran back quickly to the chamber and brought everyone else outside.

The elders were stunned and shocked, at the scene before them. Crying out in despair for their lost loved ones, they ran to their dead sons and daughters, cradling them in their arms.

Shisuse could not believe her eyes as she walked between the bodies, slowly making her way towards her husband. Upon seeing her lifelong lover and partner in front of her, she flung herself on him, crying his name out to the heavens.

"It was horrible." The voice frightened the old woman enough to look up so quickly and suddenly that a loud crack could be heard form her neck.

"How...?" Shisuse began.

"I knew that the fight wasn't ours the second I saw those two." replied the young Uzumaki. "So I did not fight and I cast a genjutsu around the area I was hiding in to conceal myself."

"So you saw the battle?" The person nodded. "Tell me what happened." The person opened their mouth to begin but was silenced by the elder. "Later, once the bodies have been brought in." She wiped her tears away, stood and turned around. "Now we must rely on Kushina." She announced to everybody. "Our time here is over, for if Pain learns he has not destroyed this clan entirely, he will return and eradicate us for good. We will have to repair this complex and we will lay low until he is dead" Thus the Uzumaki clan disappeared, being all but extinct.

* * *

"Get on my back and close your eyes." Minato shot the girl a look. "No peeking!" 

Kushina giggled. "Okay ,okay." And did what she was told. The two were at the side of the Hokage monument, near the Shodaime's head.

"Hang on tight!" He knew he couldn't fail running up the sheer rock face with his chakra feet, like his father had taught him. Beginning up the cliff, Minato clenched his newfound friend's legs tightly in fear of dropping her.

A minute after he began, the scary experience was over. "Are your eyes still closed?" asked the boy.

"Yeah, but what did you just do? I almost let go." Replied Kushina as she dropped off his back.

"You'll find out when you open your eyes." He said with a smile. "Go on, open them."

She opened her eyes, but all she saw was a grinning Minato. "Where a-…" she began as she turned around. Konoha lay sprawling before her, herself looking down from the First's head, the village all lit up for the night life. "Minato-" the blonde stepped up to her side.

"Out of all the secret places in Konoha, this is the coolest one and my favorite. I love it up here. It just feels so open, like you could do anything." He said looking out. He checked the position of the sun, which was halfway below the horizon. He looked over at an awestruck Kushina.

"How…How did you find this place? It's amazing."

Minato did that foxy grin again and folded his arms behind his head like a future someone would. "My dad showed me up here once." He checked the sun again. Almost below the horizon. "Aw man!"

Kushina put on a confused look. "What?"

"I got to get you back to the tower by sunset and the sun is nearly gone! Hurry! Get on my back!"

The girl obeyed and the pair was soon back in the village, running at full speed towards the Hokage tower. Just as the last of the sun disappeared, the skidded to a halt in front of the gates.

"I... think…we…made…it." Kushina managed to get out in between several lungfulls of air.

Up in the tower, Sarutobi watched them from his office window. 'That boy will never let you down, that's for sure,' thought the Hokage and went downstairs to greet the two children.

"I'm glad I can depend on you Minato. I thought you two wouldn't be here until long after the sun went down. I'll remember this in the future." He looked at Kushina. "I have a few things to tell you once you're inside. Now say goodbye."

She turned to Minato. "Let's meet at the playground tomorrow."

"Ok. See you there."

Kushina ran back to Sarutobi and they walked back into the tower. "Bye Minato!"

"Bye Kushina!" replied the blonde as he began to run home.

Back upstairs in the Hokage's office, Sarutobi began. "Tomorrow, you will move out of your current room here into the household of your foster family. This will happen early in the morning once you are dressed and have something to eat. You won't be able to play with Minato until this is done. An ANBU will show you the way to your new family's house." Sarutobi got up from his chair. "Now go to bed, you'll need your rest for tomorrow."

* * *

Kushina was up before the sun was in her excitement. With nothing better to do, she sat on the edge of the balcony watching the sun rise. The higher it rose, the more her excitement built. The ball of fire had cleared the horizon when her stomach finally made contact with her brain, demanding food. She gave in and went into the small kitchen, rummaging through the lower drawers and cabinets until she found a loaf of bread. Tearing the package open, Kushina ate two slices and put the rest on the counter. 

A quick glance at the clock told the girl it was 8 AM. "Better start getting ready." she said to herself. Rummaging through the bag that held all her clothes, she pulled out a pair of dark green caprice, a dullish orange hoodie with dark green sleeves and a simple black t-shirt.

Kushina put these on and stuffed her pj's back in. After brushing her teeth and hair, she returned to her previous spot on the balcony, waiting for the ANBU to pick her up.

Finally, around 9:30, someone knocked on the door. The excited girl leapt up and yanked the door open to find her dog-masked mover and guide behind it.

"Where are your possessions?" he asked.

Kushina jabbed a thumb behind her. "Back there." Without asking for permission, he went inside and somehow managed to carry everything except for one small bag.

"You can carry that. Once you got it, follow me to your new family." He walked straight out the door.

Ten minutes later, "Where are we?"

"Near the outside of the village. Your new place is the one up ahead with the blue roofs." The two were walking down a street in a nice neighborhood and Kushina had a spring in her step, her shoulder length hair bouncing with each one. The 'place with the blue roofs' looked like a small clan complex, with a wall surrounding the lot and a main doorway in the middle of the wall that was facing the street. A large symbol of a bottom half of a circle with short lines spreading out from the bottom like a sun was painted neatly on the wall to the right of the doorway. There was no sign above the entrance stating the clan's name.

The ANBU pulled a bell that hung from the side of the entrance. After a minute of waiting, a brown haired man appeared by the door. "What is your name?" he asked.

The ninja replied for her. "Her name is Uzumaki Kushina."

"Oh yes. We were expecting you." He stood aside. "Come in."

They entered and walked down a covered pathway that was above a large pond that reached from one end of the complex to the other, covered in lily pads. Some very large koi and goldfish poked their heads above the water to take a look at the newcomers. At the end of the pathway, they soon encountered an open hallway.

The man took them down the left branch and continued until they rounded a corner and were standing in front of a sliding door. Voices could be heard behind it and one was definitely a woman's. He opened it and they walked into a kitchen. Yes, there was a blonde woman at the stove making breakfast. The other person was at the table, eating cereal. Kushina's eyes went wide in disbelief as she recognized the face.

"Minato?"

* * *

**A/N: Please please pleaseeeee awnser the question I asked in the A/N above! It needs to be awnsered for the sake of this story! **

**More questions: **

**1) Suprise suprise! Kushina stays with Minato! Like or no like?**

**haha.. thats all the questions I can think of now.**

**Maybe not next chapter, but in the future, I will say songs that remind me of the chapter I post. (If theres a song in the first A/N, theres probably going to be some fluff later in the chapter or angst.)**

**Next chapter: Kushina is staying with Minato? At the playground, she meets her future best friend.**

**Please review! I'll give you guys my extra halloween candy if you do! Au revoir!**

USD


	4. Prolouge 4:PlaygroundsBedsBeginningsEnds

**I finally got this chapter up. YESHHHH.**

**Many people are wondering when Naruto will come in. There will only be 2 or 3 more chapters that contain MinatoxKushina, one conatining how they get together like to gf/bf then to financees then married. The second chapter will be from Naruto's conception to Kyuubi's attack, and there might be a third chapter containing... well.. I don't know yet, maybe some random moments developing MinatoxKushina up to the gf/bf level. So wait and be patient. Things just can't happen instantly, cause that ruins it, and I'd be leaving you hanging, wondering how it all happened. Thats how you write good stories. DEVELOPING. Ha, I just realized, thats a wierd word, haha.**

**OMG I just remebered, there will be a third chapter because of the rasengan Minato recreates.**

**So R+R and enjoy! **

* * *

**Chapter 4-The Playground, The Bed, The Beginning, The End**

Minato's spoon froze halfway to his mouth. He abandoned his breakfast and pulled Kushina into a tight hug. "Kushina! Wait, why are you here?"

"This family is the one that adopted me. I'm going to live here now." She replied.

"So… that means… you're going to live with me!"

The man who had brought her in earlier was surprised. "You guys know each other? How?"

Kushina broke the hug to tell him. "Yesterday, me and Sarutobi-kun were eating ramen and Minato comes and joins us."

"Well then, I know you've met Minato, and I'm his father, Tetsuo, and that's his mother and my wife, Natsumi. We are the last of the Namikaze clan, just us three."

"Nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Namikaze."

Minato tugged Kushina's hand. "Come on, let's go upstairs. The dynamic duo charged up the stairs, shaking the house in the process.

"Well, I guess we should follow them and get her settled in." said Tetsuo letting out a sigh before he went upstairs and found the two in Minato's bedroom, sitting on his bed and talking.

"Come on guys, let's go to Kushina's bedroom and unpack" he told them. They obediently followed the man to it, which was just down the hall, next to the bathroom. It was average size, fifteen feet by ten, and had a closet, two windows since it was on the corner of the house, a bed in the corner, a vanity/dresser and a full length mirror on the closet door. The room was painted white with a wood floor.

Tetsuo turned to the ANBU. "You can drop her stuff now. We got it from here." The ninja put Kushina's bags down and poofed away, leaving a cloud of smoke as the only evidence he had ever been there. "Kushina, what's in each bag?"

She pointed to the first bag. "The clothes that were in my closet are in that one, the clothes were in my dresser are in that one, my shoes and stuff are in that one and some other things are in my backpack in Minato's room."

"Ok Minato, put her clothes in the dresser and Kushina, put your shoes and things away wherever you want to keep them. I'll put your clothes in the closet." The kids set to work right away, eager to go out and play.

As she was unpacking, Kushina came across a picture of her grandparents, her parents and her. She, caught up in a sudden moment of nostalgia, immediately stopped unpacking and sat down on the bed. Minato stopped what he was doing and came over. "Hey, what's that?" he asked. Kushina handed the picture to him, a tear escaping her emerald eyes.

When he saw what it was, he said, "Ah so this is your family." Minato looked back at her and saw a second tear escape her. "Oh, I'm-I'm sorry" His voice fell and he looked the floor.

"Oh no, don't be sorry. It's nothing." Kushina gave a small smile and set the picture on top of the dresser. "Don't worry." The girl continued with her work.

Minato knew she certainly wasn't alright but decided not to press the issue. He turned back and finished putting Kushina's shirts in the middle drawer. "Ok Otou-san, I'm done!"

Kushina kicked her ¾ empty bag under the bed. "Me too!"

Tetsuo looked up and shook his head. "Kushina, finish putting your things away. I saw you push your bag under the bed."

"Man…" She pulled it out and dumped the rest of its contents on the bed and quickly put things in random places around the room. "Done."

"Ok, NOW you guys can go." The response was for the two to run out.

They were back outside on the street and were at full speed towards the playground. When they got there, Minato waved to a group of boys around their age and one of them motioned for him to come over. "Come on," the blonde said, "I'll introduce you to my friends." He pulled her along the hand to them. "Hey guys, what's up?"

A guy with a brown ponytail answered. "Who's she?" He motioned to Kushina hiding behind Minato. Meeting adults was no problem, but being introduced to your peers was entirely different.

"Oh Shikaku, this is Kushina. Kushina this is Shikaku and that's Fugaku, Choza, Hiashi, Hizashi, and Inoichi." He pointed to a skinny black haired guy, a fat boy, two dark brunettes that looked exactly alike and a platinum blonde guy. Personally, Kushina was disturbed at the sight of the twins, namely because of their white pupil-less eyes. "Kushina just moved here and is living with me now." He tugged the girl's hand. "I'll be right back guys I'm just going to introduce her to the girls." They walked away.

"Those two really creep me out." Kushina whispered in Minato's ear.

He laughed. "It's because of those eyes, isn't it? They're Hyuugas, so they're born with it."

Kushina remembered what Sarutobi had said to her about the Hyuuga clan. "Oh. That explains it."

"Hey there Sumiko-chan!" Minato blushed a little as he approached a girl with long dark blue hair.

She tuned around. "Oh hi Minato."

"I want you to met Kushina-chan. She's new here," said Minato as he introduced the two to each other.

"Hi." Kushina said meekly.

Some other girls had gathered around the new arrival. "Who are you?" one of them asked.

"K-Kushina"

Minato folded his hands behind his head. "Well, I'm going to hang out with the guys." And he left.

Sumiko turned her attention back to the new girl. "So where did you move here from?"

Kushina managed to gather some confidence back. "The Whirlpool Country."

"Oh, so you're from near the beach?"

"Not really. We lived more in the hilly part." Some girls had already lost interest in her and left the group. Sumiko never budged.

"So why'd you move here? She asked.

"My…My family ordered me to come here and live here for the rest of my life. They couldn't come with me."

"But why'd they make you come here?"

"A big bad guy was coming to kill my clan, so I was sent here so the clan wouldn't die"

To say Sumiko was horrified was an understatement. "That's…That's awful."

"Yeah and what's worse is I'll never see them again."

"I live in the orphanage. I never even knew my real family. When I enter the Academy, I get my own apartment to live in all by my self."

Kushina immediately hung onto the change of subject. "You're going to the Ninja Academy too?"

"Yeah. Everyone here is." Sumiko said. "Didn't you know that?

"No."

"Here let me explain…" the two girls made their way towards the swings and continued to talk, switching from topic to topic. By the middle of the day, Sumiko and Kushina could be mistaken for best friends, which the two now practically were. Kushina had regained her usual demeanor, loud curious and carefree while she discovered that Sumiko was the shy type.

Minato appeared with his gang of boys following close behind. He blushed again and couldn't make eye contact with Sumiko as he talked to her. "Um, Sumi-chan? M-Me and Kushina gotta go eat lunch now at home."

The girls looked at each other and Sumiko nodded. "I'll be back as soon as I can." Kushina said. "See ya." The girls hugged.

"Bye."

Once Minato and Kushina were a block from the playground, Kushina asked, "Why do you act so weird around Sumi-chan?"

The blonde turned a shade of red that could shame an apple. "Well…I…um…sorta…kinda… like her. Eh he he." He slightly grinned at the last part.

"You like her?"

"Yeah."

Kushina grinned evilly. "Ooh, I'm going to tell her next time I see her!"

"No!" he gave her the puppy eyes treatment. "No please don't. Please, please pretty please, don't tell her."

She sighed and the mischievous look drained from her face. "Ok, ok, I won't." The grin returned because on the inside, she was giggling madly.

* * *

(Two years later, a week before the academy starts)

The door opened. "Hey Minato?" the moonlight shone through the window onto the boy sprawled out in bed.

"Mmmpf?" came the groggy reply.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Why? Did you have one of you family nightmares again?"

"Yeah. I dunno why. I had it thought they stopped a year and a half ago." said Kushina as she climbed in bed with him. "Night Minato."

"G'night Kushina," said Minato smiling at her before putting his arm around Kushina and falling back to sleep.

* * *

(In the morning)

Kushina felt herself curled up against something hard yet soft, large and warm. She snuggled into it and sighed contentedly. Whatever who or what it was smelled good. It was probably a person because a pair of arms was wrapped around her waist. She opened her eyes partway to discover it was a bare chest she was against. She shrieked at the top of her lungs, and sprang out of the bed she was in. Hyperventilating, the eight year old started blubbering nonsense.

The scream awoke Minato, making him jump out too, head whipping around for the source of it. "Who-Wha was that?"

The girl was finally able to say real words. "You-…me-…bed-…what-…"

Minato scratched his head. "Well last night, you had a family nightmare and climbed into bed with me. At least, that what I could remember since I was half awake."

Kushina relaxed immediately. "Oh good."

"Why, do you think something else happened?"

She blushed. "No, nothing."

* * *

(A week later, the first day of the academy)

Natsumi knelt down to her son's and adopted daughter's eye-level. "Now behave you two, especially you Kushina. Don't pull any tricks on your sensei" she presented them both with backpacks packed with the required textbooks and lunch. The woman kissed them both on the cheek.

"Ugh, mommm." groaned Minato as he wiped where her lips had just been.

Natsumi smiled. "Now go have fun at the academy and become great ninjas." And she pushed them out the kitchen doorway.

The two best friends rounded the corner and saw a small crowd of parents and kids in front of the Ninja Academy. Their local group of friends and they joined up and began to talk excitedly about the coming year.

A half hour later, a Chuunin appeared on the roof. "Everybody," he announced, I welcome you to Konoha's Ninja Academy. Newcomers welcome and returning students, we welcome you as well. I ask the 1st graders to gather by the tree over there, the second years to go to the playground, the third years to the center of the yard and the fourth years by the entrance here." Parents said goodbye to their child or children and the children went to their respective meeting places. The ninja who welcomed them came over to the first graders. "All of you follow me inside to your classroom." They went inside, down a hallway, turned right down another hallway and entered the first classroom on the right. "Take a seat everybody." The Chuunin pointed towards the desks. Kushina sat down in a seat between the top and bottom rows, between Sumiko and Minato.

Their new sensei began. "Now here in the Academy, we expect you to do your very best and give everything your all, since you are becoming ninja. First, before we actually start class, I would everyone to introduce themselves and share some of your likes and dislikes, maybe a thing or two about yourself. My name is Yukio Maduko. I like cats and teaching. I am married and have a daughter." He pointed to the boy on the opposite side of the room in the first row. "Your turn."

* * *

(Four years later, the last day of the academy)

"G' morning Maduko-sensei!" Kushina yelled with a big smile as she walked in the door. She tossed him a small scroll. "It's from Natsumi-chan." She pulled a hooded raincoat out of her backpack and put it on, snickering evilly. 'I can't wait to see the look on his face!'

Minato saw her face and ran out of the room, knowing that it only meant one thing. Kushina was up to something.

Maduko opened the scroll, only to find his face, the rest of the room, and everything and everyone else in it covered in yellow and purple polka-dotted paint. Kushina was rolling on the floor laughing really hard, pointing at her teacher. A vein popped on Madoka's newly redecorated face. "KUSHINA!" he roared, "You just ruined it for your classmates! Everybody, clean up this room and then form a line in the front of the classroom!!"

Groans from everyone. "Thanks a lot Kushina."

"Jeez why do we have to clean this up?"

"Is it impossible for you not to pull a prank every single day? Huh?"

"Aw come on, you know you loved it." She retorted back.

After the whole morning was spent cleaning, everybody made that line. "Now," started a clean but still fuming Maduko, "Everybody perform the Henge and transform into the person behind you in line."

"Great! The one skill I suck at!" Kushina whispered under her breath. When it came her turn, the twelve year old girl was barely able to transform.

"Now everybody, take a seat and wait to be called to the room next door for your Genin exam." The teacher exited the room.

Minato went before Kushina. 'You got this, you got this Minato.' He told himself. He entered the testing room. Maduko sat behind a desk with a clipboard in hand and four rows of forehead protectors in front of him, some already gone.

"Stand in the middle of the room." ordered his teacher. Minato did as instructed. "Make three clones." The boy gulped and nodded.

'Tiger, boar, ox, dog.' "Bunshin no jutsu!" the three clones appeared, one on either side and the last one behind him.

Maduko scribbled something on his clipboard and began to clap. "Good job Minato! You're the new rookie of the year. Come and get your forehead protector."

The blonde broke into a wide smile. "Thank you thank you thank you!" He grabbed his proof of graduation and quickly tied it around his head.

"Go to the class across the hall. All the other graduates are waiting there."

"Yes Maduko-sensei!" Minato left the room.

There were two people left when Kushina was called. A minute later, Minato was pulled into a bone crushing hug by a now Genin Kushina.

Once everybody had tested and passed, Maduko entered the classroom. "I congratulate you all for passing your exams and making it to Genin. All of you are dismissed, but meet here at 800 hours tomorrow to be put into teams and meet your Jounin senseis."

* * *

"Team 3: Namikaze Minato, Jirou Hitomi and Goro Akio." 

"Damn, I'm not with Minato." Kushina muttered. She looked at him and they exchanged sympathetic glances. Both wanted the same thing: To be with each other on the same team.

"Team five: Hyuuga Hizashi, Uzumaki Kushina and Ken'ichi Sumiko. This announcement changed the mood entirely. The girls looked at each other and smiled. 'At least I'm with Sumiko.' As the rest of the teams were announced, Kushina just sat there, staring off into space.

"Now, I will introduce your Jounin sensei's," said the teacher opening the door as the each Jounin came in one by one looking at the students with veteran eyes.

* * *

**A/N: Nothing much to say since it said it all in the beginning. Well, actually, I originally planned to write out the bell test but nah, too much stalling the reader and its not really needed for the storyline. Although, Jiraya will still appear next chapter.**

**So review please! I promise the next chapter will come out sooner that this one did! DATTEBAYO!**

**USD**

**Next chapter: Jiraya!? Kushina and Minato are getting a bit closer than they were before! And the blonde develops his signature attack, thanks to the Uzumaki clan. **


	5. Prolouge 5: I've Missed You

A/N: Well I told you guys this one would be up sooner than the other chapters.

OMG WE NOW KNOW WHAT KUSHINA LOOKS LIKE. OMG. She didn't exactly look like what I expected.

TSBasilisk, I never thought about that point. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Over christmas break, which started today, I will finish up Kushina's part of the story (2 chapters) and post it as a double special thing. So new year, new part. Nothing much else to say.

Read and review please!

* * *

**Chapter 5- I've Missed You**

Nine Jounin walked in the door. A girl raised her hand. "Maduko-sensei, there are ten teams but only nine senseis. Where's the last one?" Maduko checked off each name to see who was missing.

* * *

A young man with a pair of binoculars looked through them to a group of ladies in the hot springs, or a certain blonde to be exact. He gave a perverted giggle and a minor nosebleed when he got a particularly good view of her huge "goodies" as he liked to call them. She turned around and he quickly escaped to avoid being seen, as she would kill him if she ever found out he was peeping. The man checked his watch, cursed and ran off.

* * *

The classroom door slammed open and a white long haired Jounin skidded into the room. "Sorry I'm late Maduko-san. I got held up." 

Kushina raised an eyebrow at this new arrival. 'I feel so bad for whoever is gonna get this guy as their sensei. He's clearly a pervert.' She observed the dried lines if blood under his nose.

"Glad you could make it, Jiraya-san. I was about to announce what team you were assigned to, which will be Team 3."

"AHAHAHAHA!!" Kushina fell out of her seat and clutched her stomach, laughing so hard she thought she was going to die. "Minato, haha, good, ha, good luck with him." She said when she had gotten up from the floor.

A vein popped on Jiraya's forehead. "Hey!! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Oh nothing, pervert."

"WHY YOU LITTLE…!" yell Jiraiya only to stop when Maduko put a hand on Jiraya's shoulder.

"Calm down Jiraya-san. She gets to me too, so just ignore it. Now go take your team."

"Fine! Come on guys, let's go." He left the room with Minato and co. in tow.

Over the course of the day and the next, both Kushina's and Minato's teams stayed together through their individual tests. Within the first year of being an official ninja, Kushina had been on 136 D-ranked missions, 129 of which were successful and 5 C-ranked missions, all of them successful. From those, 12 were with Minato or his team. When they were together on a mission, Minato didn't look away when he spoke to Sumiko and he didn't blush anymore either. It seemed he had outgrown that little childhood crush.

The Chuunin exams were coming around, and this time, she was allowed to participate in them in Suna after being denied the chance twice. Kushina had never been to the Sand village, but she could clam she had when she came back a Chuunin. Minato was made a Chuunin in the last exams after a spectacular fight with a Cloud Genin.

It was shortly after when the Dynamic Duo were assigned their first C-ranked mission together, the first pebble was placed that would change the course if the river.

* * *

Minato sat up in his sleeping bag because his bladder was about to burst. He went out of the tent into the woods to do his business, not noticing that someone else's sleeping bag was empty as well. 

The boy was coming back from his business when he saw Kushina sitting up in a tree, her back to the trunk and plucking petals off of a flower, like she had done all those years ago. She sat so her head was toward the moon, its light outlining her slim figure. Part because he was half asleep, part because of the moonlight, in Minato's eyes, Kushina looked more than a friend, more than a girl. She looked like something surreal, like a goddess from the heavens.

"Hey Kushina," he called up to her. "Why are you up?"

"Can't sleep."

Minato jumped up onto the branch and sat in front of her. "Can I join you?"

"Sure." Kushina got up from her spot and motioned for him to sit where he had been. He moved and she sank into his arms, up against his chest.

"The moon is really bright tonight." Minato commented.

"Mmm." Just then, something came up inside of Kushina, something she had never felt before. It felt like butterflies in her stomach. It wasn't a bad feeling, she knew that.

Minato felt safe there with her, safer than he had felt for a long time he felt safe enough to fall asleep, locking the fourteen year old girl in place, with his head on her shoulder and his arms around her, but she didn't mind. Kushina liked it there.

In the morning, Jiraya was the first one up. This was one of his sane mornings when he wasn't thinking of girls in the hot springs. Walking around, he saw something out of place, something in a tree. Jiraya walked closer and saw Minato and Kushina up in the tree, asleep in each others arms. They, together, gave off a feeling of serenity and calmness he rarely saw in couples.

'I better not disturb them.' And the Jounin walked back to camp.

The rising sun reached through the trees and hit Minato's eyes. He groaned and turned his head the other way, but he had already woken Kushina up. She yawned and stretched, stood up and saw Minato trying to stay asleep, smirking at his efforts. She crouched down and poked him on the forehead. "Good morning sleepyhead."

"…No…get…up." The blonde sleep talked.

Kushina giggled and ruffled his hair. "C'mon, time to go."

Back at camp, Jiraya saw the two emerge from the trees together. He turned towards them and grinned.

"Oi! What're you smiling at, Ero-sensei?" Kushina said warningly. Jiraya just grinned even wider, shook his head and turned away.

* * *

(A Few Years Later, Kushina is 16)

"98, 99, 3000 yen. Good, I do have enough to buy my own apartment. Then to decorate it, I'll need 900, which I also have saved up. I guess… I guess I can move. Kushina was on her bed, counting her saving up, seeing if she had enough to buy her own place. "I'll tell Minato-kun, Natsumi-chan and Tetsuo-san later."

* * *

(At the dinner table later that night)

Kushina put down her chopsticks. "Guys, I have an announcement to make."

"Go on."

"I am planning to get my own apartment."

Natsumi sighed. "I knew this would happen someday." She stood up. "Stay right here." The woman left and returned with a small wooden box. "Kushina, this is your fund for your own place that we started when you started to go to the academy. Here, take it." She passed the box to Kushina. "It's yours to keep. Use it how you want."

Kushina couldn't find any words to say that could express her thanks. She just stared at the box.

"When do you plan to move?" Tetsuo asked.

"Within the next month or two. I have to scan through the newspaper ads and look at a few places first."

After dinner had been cleaned up, Minato, though not in a rough and hostile way, pinned Kushina against the wall in the upstairs hallway, his arm supporting him. "How-how long have you been thinking about this?"

Kushina saw concern and sadness in his eyes, something she had never seen before. "Ever since I turned 16. Why?"

'For a couple months now…' Minato thought.

"If you move, I'll feel like I've lost you because to me, you're more than my best friend, more than someone who's like my sister. Kushina, you're just…more. I feel safe and calm around you. I don't want to lose that feeling." Minato looked down, unable to meet her eyes.

"Minato, I can't go back now. I've told your mom and dad, I've been saving money, I want and I need to do this. I can't live here forever. I'm not even a real part of your family."

His eyes shot up at that last statement. "Don't say that. Don't ever say that. You're as much a part of this family as I am."

"You're right, it was a bad thought." He released her and they walked towards their rooms.

"If you can't be here, can I be with you there?"

Kushina paused at her doorway. "We'll see."

* * *

(Later that Week)

"Aargh, Sumiko, I don't know what to do with him! I want to let him live with me, but something is telling me no. I don't know…" Sumiko and Kushina were at a café like they were every Friday.

Sumiko tapped her finger on her chin. "Well, if it was me, I would live alone for a bit, maybe 6 months or more, and then I would let him move in because, well, you two have lived together under one roof for almost all your lives. I would want to be alone and not to have to see him every single day, because breaks are always nice."

The redhead sighed. "Thanks Sumiko. I knew I could always rely on your brain since it always seems to turn out perfectly." And it sure did since Minato agreed, albeit solemnly, but still happy that she accepted.

After Kushina had found a place not far from the village gates and moved in, she hardly saw the boy anymore. She after the first few weeks also felt that loneliness and emptiness that he had described all that time ago in the hall. She finally sent out a letter to him after those months were up, inviting him to come and move in with her.

When the day came, Kushina sat on her couch, waiting for him to arrive. Normally, Sumiko would be here with her to help him move, but she was on a B-ranked mission to deliver a scroll to one of the fire daimyo's advisors.

After waiting for what seemed like hours, the doorbell finally rang. Kushina got up and opened the door and found Minato there as expected. What she did not expect was for Minato to lift her up, to which she squeaked, and firmly plant a kiss on her lips. Suddenly, she felt some sort of odd rush urging her to go on that she didn't understand. When she finally did, before she could do anything, Minato had put her down. He broke contact and whispered in her ear, "You won't ever believe how much I missed you Kushina. You won't ever believe."

The girl just stood there, dumbfounded at what had just happened. 'Did he…Did Minato just…' Before she could complete that thought, she fainted and fell with a thud.

"Kushina?" Minato kneeled down to her. "Kushina!" 'I think I went a bit too far.'

* * *

(7 Months Later, Kushina is now 17)

April was coming around and that meant the Sakura festival was too. Kushina went to Sumiko's house to get ready for this once a year event. Minato was back at the apartment putting on a light blue kimono embroidered with dragons. He and Kushina agreed to meet at a certain tree, and they did. When he saw her, one word in his mind could describe her: beautiful. She wore a red kimono embroidered with phoenixes. Her hair that usually reached down to about her mid back was tied up on a bun secured with a very nice pair of hair sticks, leaving the front of her hair hanging out in front of her face.

He on the other hand, looked REALLY cute to Kushina. Without his forehead protector holding his wild hair back, it hung just above his eyes. As she walked up to him, she noticed how tall he had become. She only came up to his shoulder whereas a few years ago, they were roughly the same height.

The Jounin offered his arm. "Shall we go?"

She hooked her arm around his. "Of course." They spent the night playing those carnival games, listening to traditional music and walking around, enjoying themselves.

Eventually, both of their feet got tired and they sat down on a bench underneath a blooming sakura tree. The moon reached through the petals, spotting the two's heads with dots of light.

He mumbled. "The moon is bright tonight."

Kushina smirked at that. It brought her back to that mission that they had had together as Chuunin. The memory just suddenly clicked something inside her head. Her hand slowly slid across the seat of the bench towards Minato's, unsure of what it was doing. Hell, she herself didn't know what was happening. All she knew was that if she let this moment go, she would regret it later for her whole life. She touched it and he looked down at it, wonder and countless thanks in his eyes. "I think… I think I'm ready Minato, and only if you are."

That night, the two seventeen-year-olds made a decision to get together, a life changing and ultimately, a decision that changed the course of history.

* * *

(One Year Later, Minato and Kushina are both now 18)

_Sching_

_Thunk thunk thunk thunk_

Minato created a one- hand seal, and was gone in a flash. He silently and instantly transported to the spots he had just thrown the special kunai. He cut off the dummies head the second he appeared with the kunai and went straight onto the next one.

When all four of the dummies were "killed", Minato went back to the same place he started and managed to stand for a moment before falling to his hands and knees, panting heavily. 'Good.' He thought. 'I'm getting better. I didn't faint this time.'

* * *

(Another Year Later)

The couple was walking together through the streets of Konoha to the Sandaime's office. "Kushina-chan, what the coolest and most powerful jutsu you have ever seen?"

The teenage girl sorted through her memories of past missions. She decided on a B-ranked water jutsu but another, more faded memory came out of the dark in her mind. "I can't remember exactly where, I think it was, yeah, it was my old clan, and they had a technique. It required no hand seals, which is pretty efficient if I must say so. I saw Tsuzei-kun, my Grandfather perform it once in front of me. It was a spinning ball of chakra that could plow through almost anything. I think it was called Rasengan. Judging by today's standards, it would be a very high A-ranked jutsu."

"Sounds simple enough. Maybe I can recreate it after I master Hiarishin no Jutsu, of course."

"By the way, how's that one coming along?"

"Good. I can teleport twelve times without passing out." Said Minato as they were by that time both at the gates.

"State your purpose." said one of the guards. This was due process, even if he knew who these two were.

"Come by request of Hokage-sama." replied the blonde.

The guard nodded. "Go through."

Up in the Hokage office, Minato got some startling news. "You want me to be WHAT!?"

"I'm going to retire in a few years, so I am warning you beforehand. During my last year, you are going to be alongside me, learning how to fill out forms and paperwork, learning how to logically and learning what to do if the village is under attack" Sarutobi said.

Minato slammed his hand down on the Hokage's desk. "Sarutobi-san, I know it was and still is my life goal to become Hokage, but at my age? I don't think I'm ready! I'm too young! And besides, you're still strong and healthy, you have another ten years at least!" he yelled angrily.

"Stop Minato. Listen to the logic behind my decision. One, I picked you because of Orochimaru. He gives me a bad feeling that he would use his place as Hokage to do other things, so you are the only candidate left. Two, I am past my prime and I'm not as strong as I used to be. Three, you have a strong will of fire, the strongest one I have seen in a decade. You will do well in passing that onto your future children and the future children of Konoha as its Hokage."

Minato paced as Kushina just stood there calmly, soaking up this news. "Calm down Minato-kun. He said a few years, not a few weeks. You have time to plan things out."

The blonde stopped and took her hands in his. "Its just that I'm so shocked, Kushina-chan. I didn't expect this to happen so soon. I'm not even twenty and I'm told I'm going to be the Yondaime."

"So?" Sarutobi injected. "I was told I was going to be the next Hokage by the Shodaime and Nidaime when I was fourteen, five years younger than you are now. I was actually more confused than shocked." He chuckled at the memory. "Until my last year in office, tell only the ones you trust with your lives of this. At the beginning of that last year, I will announce it to the village. You are dismissed." The teens bowed and left.

Eventually, only Hiashi, Fugaku, Sumiko, Minato's parents and even Jiraya were told of Minato's future. The Hyuuga and Uchiha merely congratulated him, though Sumiko, Tetsuo and Natsumi jumped on the Hokage-to-be and were extremely happy for him.

The pervert, on the other hand gave a knowing smile when it reached his ears and said "There was no way you couldn't become Hokage anyways, especially the way you said it during the bell test when you were tied to the post. I remember you were so pissed because you were the number one rookie but you still ended up there."

Minato, again, proved that he was a worthy Hokage to be when after many months of practicing, he perfected the Hiarishin no Jutsu. He began to work on his next project, the Rasengan.

* * *

**A/N: My mom is reallly mad at me becuase I'm failing history and she doesn't want me writing these stories. Oh well. I'm a rebel. I defy the rules. Mwahaha. Anyways, what does history have to do with creating the concept art for video** **games? (Which is what I'm going to be) Exactly. Nothing. Nothing at all. **

**Celebrate! I've hit the 10,000 word mark for this story! Yay!**

**Next Chapters: **

**1- The re-created Rasengan is completed after lots fo hard work, and Kakashi, Rin and last but not least, Obito enter the stage. Special things happen on top of the Hokage Monument too.**

**2- Kushina gets a wierd sickness that can't be cured, but the cause is a good thing? How is that possible?**

**USD**


	6. Prolouge 6: Through the Years

**THE DOUBLESPECIAL UPDATE: Part I**

**A/N: Sorry this is late, but if you look on my list of authored stories, there is a OneShot that my friends asked me to write over Christmas break and that is why these next two chapters are late.**

**As always, no need to disclaim becuse a freshman could not have possibly invented Naruto.**

**R R and enjoy! **

* * *

**Chapter 6- Through the Years**

"Why the hell can't I get this right? She said it was a spinning ball of chakra. I've got the spinning part." Said Minato concentrated chakra in his hand and spun it in a clockwise direction.

'How do I get the ball? It's just a disk of charka…. I can't get this. I need to talk to her again,' thought Minato before left the training ground and headed back to the apartment that he and Kushina shared.

It wasn't all that bad sharing it with a girl, seeing as they were boyfriend and girlfriend. He opened the unlocked the door and called out. "Kushina-chan? Are you home?"

Her voice answered from the office. "I'm in here, writing my mission report. Hey by the way, you got a letter in the mail from the Hokage."

Minato groaned. "He made me the future Yondaime. What else could he want from me?"

"Hey! Stop complaining!" she called from the other room "A lot of shinobi and kunochi in this village would kill to be in your position right now!"

He inwardly sighed and went into the kitchen and found the letter on the counter. Opening it, he began to read glumly.

_Dear Minato-san,_

_Congratulations. You have been selected to be one of the ten Jounin senseis for this years graduating Genin class. If you would like to accept, please attend the meeting on April 6 at 9:00 AM in the Hokage office. If you would like to withdraw, please contact my secretary. _

_-From the office of the Sandaime_

_P.S. I know it may seem like I'm asking a lot of you Minato, but trust me, this will help you when you become the Hokage. _

The twenty year-old man walked into the office, eyes glued to the paper, re-reading that last line over and over. "What do you think, Kushina?" he showed her the letter. She put down her pen, took it and read it.

"I think you should. Besides, you might get some parenting skills from it," said Kushina winking at him at that last comment.

Minato smiled, knowing exactly what she meant by that last notion. "Whatever you say, baby." He leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I need to ask you something. Can you give me a description of the Rasengan again? I can't seem to get it right."

"It was a swirling ball of chakra. It could plow through anything. It didn't need any hand seals. That's about as descriptive is I can get since it's only a faint memory." She returned to her writing.

He sat down in a nearby chair and leaned on his arm. "I got the swirling part down except when I swirl it, it's a disk, not a sphere. How do you think I could solve that?"

Kushina paused in the middle of writing a sentence and gave a small smile. "You're really dedicated to getting it, aren't you?"

"Yeah." He mumbled "If I complete it, well, it'd be as if I learned something from your family, and I really want to. If I could I would have liked to talk to your father at some point about that and other… certain things."

Kushina left her chair and went into the bedroom, bringing back the old picture of her family. She sat back down and stared at it for a bit. "I never noticed how much you look like my father." Minato put his hand out expectantly and she put the portrait in his hand. "Getting back to the point. What direction are you spinning the chakra in?"

After comparing himself to her father, he answered, "Clockwise."

"So its one direction _and_ it takes the form of a disk?"

"Yeah…" He jumped out of the chair as if he had just sat on a small shuriken. "Bingo!" he scooped Kushina up in his arms and gave her a bone-crushing hug. "Thanks Kushina-chan I think I just solved my problem!" Minato ran out as if Shinigami himself was chasing after him.

Kushina just stood there, cluelessness written all over her face. "What did I do?"

(At the Meeting for the Future Jounin Sensei's)

Sarutobi cleared his throat. "I thank you all for accepting to become Jounin senseis for this years' graduating Ninja Academy class. These Genin teams are the future shinobi and kunochi's of Konoha. It is your job to make sure that they get the proper experience and early training as official ninjas.

"As you may know, you will test your Genin Teams if they are actually worthy of being considered competent ninjas. Preferably, test your teams with the same or similar tests that you were given as a Genin. This will ensure that your teachings and ninja values will be passed on. Any questions so far?" No one raised their hand. "Good. Once those of you that have graduated your Genin start going on missions, I want you to give me a weekly report on what you have accomplished, describing their improvements in their skills, teamwork and the like. Now I hope you all find your teams satisfactory. These are profiles of your teams that you will be given to test and teach." He motioned for the Chuunin helpers to pass out the folders.

"Each team has been carefully constructed so as balance out skill levels and academics levels. For example, the one with the highest grades will be paired with the lowest so it would be about the same as a team of average students."

Minato opened his folder, which had 'Confidential Information, Special Squadron' stamped in red letters on the front. It contained three profiles of each of his future students. The first had the name Uchiha Obito. The second had the name Rin. The third one had the name Hatake Kakashi, but his paper looked several years older than the other student's profiles. 'The White Fang's son and an Uchiha on the same team? That's odd.' Then he looked at the grades of his future students. Rin was in the top 25 percent and Kakashi was the rookie of the year in the Genin graduates seven years ago, like Minato had been when he was a Genin. What really shocked Minato was that the Uchiha graduated at the bottom of his class? 'An Uchiha at the bottom? Wow. I must meet this kid.'

* * *

(One Week Later-The Day after the Academy Graduation Exam)

"Ok let's start by sharing our names, our goals, a like and dislike and a thing about ourselves." The Jounin eyed them over. "My name is Namikaze Minato. I like ramen and dislike people who are full of themselves. I have a girlfriend that I live with and I plan to propose to her sometime in the near future. I created and mastered the Hiarishin no Jutsu and am currently am working on creating the Rasengan. " Minato nodded at the white haired boy. "Your turn."

"My name is Hatake Kakashi. I aim to restore honor to my family name, after my father ruined it. I like to train and follow by the rules of a ninja. What I don't like are people who break them." He gave the evil eye to the boy wearing the orange goggles. "I am also a Chuunin."

"A Chuunin? Why did Sarutobi-san place you on this team then?"

"He told me I need to be humiliated a bit so I don't get too cocky and proud and he also wanted me to make some friends that were my age." Kakashi's voice had no emotion in it strangely enough

"Okay then." Minato nodded at the girl, signifying it was her turn.

"I am Rin. I want to become an accomplished Medic Nin, as my family is a well respected line of Medics. What I don't like is people getting grossed out by a bit of guts and blood. I tell them that they're all natural and that the stuff is inside them but they still don't like to even think about them." Her sensei gave a small smile in approval.

"My name is Uchiha Obito. I want to awaken my Sharingan and impress my father. I like eating sushi. What I hate is when I put too much wasabi on my sushi and make it too spicy."

Minato sighed "Well you sure are all different. I guess this is enough for today. Meet at Training Ground 3 tomorrow and 600 hours sharp and don't bother to eat anything for breakfast because you'll get sick."

* * *

(The Next Day)

Rin stamped her foot. "Where is he?" she said, frustrated. "He should have been here fifteen minutes ago!"

"Is Obito always this late?" asked Minato.

"Yeah. He's never on time for class and always has a stupid excuse for being late." The girl said a bit enthusiastically.

"Sorry I'm late guys! I had to help a little old lady across the street and she was going really slowly." Obito ran up to them.

"I see what you mean, Rin." said Minato. He pointed to two portable lunches on the nearby rock that had an alarm clock between them, and then to the two bells attached to his vest. "You see these bells? Each of you must get these from me by noon and when you do, you can eat a lunch that's over there. I will set the clock and when I am finished, begin."

Kakashi raised his hand. "Minato-sensei, there are two bells but three of us. What happens to the person that doesn't get a bell?"

"Oh, that. HHeh, the person who doesn't get a bell is sent back to the Academy. Thought I'd throw that in."

The two Genin's jaws dropped. "WHAAAT!?"

"Yes that's right. The loser gets sent back. That includes you, Kakashi" The boy immediately stiffened. Minato walked over to the alarm clock and pushed a button on it. "Begin." All three immediately jumped into the trees and bushes to hide themselves. 'Good. They understand that concept.'

"Hey! Obito! Is that you?" Kakashi whispered through the bushes.

"I'm over here!" replied the boy.

"Look, this sensei guy is really strong because I researched the Hiarishin no Jutsu last night and it's an instant teleportation jutsu that's borderline S- rank. If were going to get anything done, we need to work together because I can tell you don't like me so much. Where's Rin?"

Obito pointed across the clearing. "I think I saw her jump over that way."

"Then that's where we're going. We need her for this." The boys jumped through he trees towards her.

"Rin!"

"That's you Obito, right?"

"Yes. Kakashi has a plan because Minato-sensei is really strong. Tell her it."

"Ok, first, Obito will…" Once the plan had been described, the three put themselves in their positions around the clearing, where Minato was laying in the center, watching the clouds.

Obito saw the signal, a flash of light off of the kunai that Kakashi was holding. He released his own string of kunai at his sensei, and Rin threw a bunch of shuriken at the target from behind her tree as well. Minato disappeared and reappeared next to the rock that had the clock and the lunches using his teleportation jutsu. 'Good. I think they got it. Let's just make sure.' He didn't have to make a move, because a small ninja dog leaped at him from behind, forcing him into the open. 'Summons? Kakashi must be more advanced than I thought.' Then at once, Rin came rushing at him on his left, and Obito on his right, ready to strike with their weapons. He jumped up to avoid them and began a chain of hand seals, but before he could finish them, someone grabbed his hand and pressed a kunai against his neck. Kakashi reached for the bells but Minato quickly used a Replacement Jutsu and replaced himself with a log. Touching down in the middle of the clearing, Minato began to clap. "Alright. You all pass."

"Are you serious!?" came Obito's voice from the trees. "We pass? I though we had to get the bells!"

Kakashi walked towards Minato and stopped five feet away. "I knew it." He said. "Obito, Rin, come here. You want to know why we passed? I think I figured it out."

"Ok then, tell me why you think you all passed my test. Let me hear your reason." Minato crossed his arms in front of the three, waiting for an answer.

"I did some research last night on the teleportation jutsu you said you created, 'The Flying Thunder God Technique,' as it's commonly called. I found that it was a very high ranked jutsu, so I knew that one of us, not even me, could go against you and get or even touch the bells. So I figured that if we all came together and worked as a team, we might be able to get one. Since I have been on missions before, I have learned that teamwork is the most essential part of being a ninja and can do more than each ninja fending for himself."

"Good explanation, Kakashi. And yes, that's what I was testing you on; teamwork, the ability to work and fight together. You must work with your teammates on a mission, even if you don't like them or hate them. That's what most ninjas lack these days, even if it is essential. Now, who wants one of the lunches over there?" He pointed to the boxes on the rock.

"I do!" Obito started jumping up and down.

"I guess I'll have the other." said Kakashi.

"Ok then, you guys can eat here while me and Rin go to Ichiraku Ramen to get take out."

"What!? Aw come on Minato-sensei, if she goes, can't we all go?" pleaded Obito. He really did want that ramen.

The Jounin chuckled. "Hey, someone has to eat those lunches."

* * *

(One Year Later)

"Kushina-chan, I have no idea what to pack!" Minato yelled from the bedroom.

"Do you know how long you're going to be at the exams?" she asked from the kitchen.

"No idea. These are the Chuunin exams, they can take anywhere from two weeks to two months! Remember yours? Those took a whole month and a half. Mine took three weeks. Each test is different."

"Then just take a few of your uniforms, two comfy outfits that you can relax in and maybe a bathing suit because the hotel might have a pool. Did you check that?" A loud bang was heard. "Ahh, shit!" She paused. "You didn't hear that!'

"Of course I didn't."

* * *

(Two Weeks Later)

"Wow, Minato-sensei, the Grass Village is soooo cool!" Obito jumped up and down.

"Can you show some maturity? You're going to be tested for Chuunin, so act like one!" Rin shot at him.

Minato looked out off the cliff. The Grass village was a bit like Suna, surrounded by cliffs, but filling the bowl were enormous trees, bigger around than the Hokage tower and taller than the monument, bringing them right up to the level of the edge of the valley edge and passing it. In those trees were houses, stores and the like, with wooden platforms surrounding each entrance like a ring around the trees. These were interconnected by rope suspension bridges, and there were multiple levels on each tree. Huge bamboo stalks filled in some of the large gaps between their larger neighbors and blocked out most of the sunlight, making the whole village of tree houses dim, humid and basically how a jungle should feel. "Come on guys. Let's go to the hotel."

* * *

(A Month Later)

"Those exams were waaay too easy. I almost wish they were harder, because then, I could've activated my Sharingan." The Uchiha folded his arms behind his head.

"Don't complain Obito. You and Rin got to Chuunin and that's what matters and that's what we came here for. You should be grateful because you made it mostly out of luck, you know." The high level Chuunin kept on looking foreword, a bit of mockery in that last statement.

"Shut up Kakashi! You're just mad because I'm now the same rank as you." Obito pointed at the boy.

"No I am not."

"Yes you are."

"No."

"Yes! Face it, you don't like me being a Chuunin because now you can't boss me around." he teased.

Rin came up between them. "Guys stop it! Kakashi, don't feel bad because you said you were thinking about the Jounin exams soon and Obito, I know you are very proud of yourself, but please shut up. You're getting on my nerves."

* * *

(That Night)

Obito, as punishment for being annoying, took first watch at camp that night. At about 2:00 am, he sensed a swarm of ninjas heading towards them. Quickly, he woke his teammates and they took down camp, masked their chakra and hid in the bushes, just as the first of the foreign ninjas passed them overhead, jumping through the trees.

"Those are Rock ninja! What do you think they're doing?" Obito whisper asked his sensei.

"No idea." replied Minato. "But there are a lot of them and they're heading towards the grass village. When they are all gone, we are going straight back to Konoha as fast as we can and going straight to the Hokage and reporting this to him."

* * *

(A Day Later)

"Hokage-sama, both Obito and Rin were promoted to Chuunin level, however, on our way back to Konoha, we crossed paths with an extremely large force of Rock Nins. They were heading towards the Grass village at a very high speed, as if planning to take it by surprise. I wouldn't be astonished if there were 350 at least, and that was just passing over our heads as we hid. We do not know how expansive it was, but it comprised of mostly Jounin, Chuunin and maybe high level Genin." said Minato. Team 3 nodded an affirmative behind him.

Sarutobi sat there a bit before taking a pull on his pipe. "This is very startling news. Do you know if any other teams have encountered them?"

"No. We were totally alone."

He again, sat there, thinking. Finally, he said, "You three are dismissed, but Minato, stay here." The teens bowed and left. He motioned for Minato to stand behind the desk. "You are going to be beside me through this. I can tell Iwagakure is trying to start a war here, and it won't be pretty. You're going to learn how to be a Hokage, Minato."

* * *

(A Year and a Half Later)

An hour after midnight, Kushina unlocked the door and walked into her apartment. She was tired from the assassination mission she just returned from, didn't bother to take a shower and just changed into her pajamas and flopped down on the unoccupied side of the bed. Minato woke up from the sudden movement and put his arm around her waist, pulling her into him. "I'm so glad you're alive, Kushina-hime. I'm so glad you didn't die." A tear escaped him.

She turned around in his arms, looking at him and saw him trying and failing to hold back his tears. Propping herself up on her elbow, she said "I'll always come back. Why are you saying that?"

His voice quivered. "Obito died on our mission five days ago. Rin, Kakashi and I are suspended for the week of ninja duties." Minato began to cry silently. "He was such a good boy. He had a lot of potential and such a big heart. I know that this is war, but this is different. He shouldn't have died."

Kushina hugged her lover. "You're right. This _is _war and many ninja are sacrificed for it to end, but we gotta look forward and try to get to the end of this war and not to the losses that we have suffered. We must look on the brightside of all this. Don't forget Obito. I liked him too, but forget the pain you felt when he died and he'll be alright. This is just like when your parents died."

Through the tears, he smiled that bright smile she loved so much. "You always know what say. That's another reason why I love you. Could you say one more thing please?"

"What's that?"

"Could you say yes to marrying me?" Even if the room was dark, he could still see a glimmer of light in her eyes. Once glance at those and they told all. Before she even said her answer, he whispered "Thank you." and closed the gap between them.

* * *

(A Month Later)

"My dear people of Konoha, these are grim days for us but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I can tell that this war with Iwa will end soon and we will win, mostly thanks to the efforts of my successor." Sarutobi yelled out loud in a clear voice from the top of the Hokage tower. "Many of you see him as the best ninja that this village has ever created, as he invented the Rasengan and Flying Thunder God Technique. The latter led him to his nickname, so now I present to you, the future Yondaime Hokage, the Yellow Flash of Konoha, Namikaze Minato!!" The people cheered, ninja and civilian alike as Minato stepped up onto the railing to be seen by the people. "Tell me, do you approve of my decision?" The crowd roared an evident yes. "Look forward to this day one year from now, as that is when he will take office. Hopefully by then, the Third Great Ninja war will over. So, now go and celebrate! Be happy, for a new era is about to begin!" The Sandaime went out of the public eyesight, pulling Minato along with him and sighed. "We're going to have one _hell_ of a tomorrow."

* * *

**A/N: Oopsy daisy, the description of this chapter from the last chapter was a bit off. I planned to make Minato propose not in bed, but on top of the Hokage Monument and I changed my mind to make it more realistic and because I thought it was a better idea. The original scene was for him to take her up to the top like he did when they were kids and do the whole open close your eyes thing and whatnot. Realistic-ism realistic-ism realistic-ism... (I'm not even sure if that is a real word but who cares) That's what makes a story good, besides the action and drama. **

**Since this is a double update, no need for a next chapter summary. **

**USD**


	7. Prolouge 7: Conception to Conviction

**DOUBLE SPECIAL UPDATE: Part II**

**A/N: More reading for you guys! Have fun!**

**WARNING: Depression ahead! **

* * *

Chapter 7- Conception to Conviction

"Glad that mission is finally over." Kushina grumbled. It had been a year since Minato was sworn into office and she had married him.

"Come on, it was only a month. It wasn't that long." said one of her teammates.

"Yes, I know but it seemed to drag on forever and ever because they said it would take two weeks, which ended up being a month. I just want to see Minato-kun." The ANBU squad entered the forests directly surrounding the southern gate.

"Looks like you'll see your Hokage play toy sooner than you think," said the hawk masked ANBU next to her earning the man a quick hit to his groin making the man fall to his knees before catching up to them with a noticeable limp in his walk.

At the 'play toy's' office, Kushina stood patiently as the squad leader gave the mission debrief. When he was done, Minato said, "Have the mission report on my desk by the day after tomorrow. You are all dismissed, except for you Kushina." Even if she was his wife, his voice kept that stern formal tone. When the rest of the team had left he relaxed, saying, "I have a surprise for you at home."

"Why would you give me a surprise so randomly?"

"Tonight is Valentine's Day night, remember?"

"Oh, I forgot." 'I didn't get him a gift!'

"I'll be waiting." Minato disappeared using the body-flicker.

Kushina jumped across the rooftops to the Hokage residence. She unlocked the door and walked in, throwing her ANBU mask and keys in the kitchen table. "Where's my surprise?" she called out.

"Over here!" His voice came from the bedroom. She walked over and opened the door. Inside, he was lying on the bed, naked as the day he was born, with a red bowtie around his neck. "What do you think of your present?" he asked.

"Love it. I absolutely love it." Kushina took off her pack and her hair put of its ponytail.

"Well?" He watched her sit on the other side of the bed. "Aren't you going to unwrap it?"

She turned around and faced him, grinning mischievously. "You bet I am." And while they kissed, her hands wandered after taking off the bowtie and throwing it on the floor, while he began to take off her clothes.

* * *

(Three Weeks Later)

"Ugh. I hate this." Kushina flopped down on the couch with a hot cup of tea in her hands. "Why am I so siiiick?" she moaned.

"Beats me." A voice said from behind her. "Besides, it means we have more time for each other." Minato jumped over the couch and landed next to her. He, like a child, put his head on Kushina's shoulder and sighed.

"Stop." She pushed his head off. "Whatever I have, I don't want to give it to you."

"Please?" Minato said as he gave her the puppy eyes.

"N-urp." Kushina clapped her hand over her mouth and made a mad dash for the bathroom. Seconds later, she could be heard hurling her recently eaten breakfast into the toilet and then the sound of it flushing. She came out, holding her stomach and shaking her head. "Do you really want that?"

"No and I won't get it anyways."

"And what makes you so sure?"

"I am a ninja and the Hokage. Nothing gets to me." Minato said it confidently with one of his signature smiles. The kiddy streak still hadn't worn off.

"Fine, but if I don't feel the slightest bit better by tomorrow, you're getting the couch."

"Fine. If I get the couch, we are going the doctor and finding out what you got because you certainly don't have a simple stomach bug."

Kushina groaned. She hated going to the hospital.

* * *

(Two Days Later)

"Now, have you gained any weight since this sickness started?" asked the doctor.

"A bit." Kushina stated.

"Have you been doing thinks you usually wouldn't?"

"Besides throwing up, sitting on the couch, eating junk and not doing A and S ranked missions? No." the kunochi sarcastically replied.

"Hmmm…" the doctor checked Kushina's eyes, ears, mouth, temperature, blood pressure and so on. "Everything is normal. I can't see what wrong with you." She concluded when she wrote the results on her clipboard. She stood there a bit, eliminating the possibilities of what this could possibly be. One very common thing fit all of these symptoms. A grin crept onto her face. "How's your sexual life? Have you done things recently?"

The redhead blushed. "Valentines Day night…"

"So about three, four weeks ago?"

"Yes."

The doctor wrote something else down. "We're going to perform a scan now, so follow me."

Minato was sitting in the waiting room for her with a small stack of paperwork he usually had to do as Hokage. Kushina came out when he had gotten ¾ of the way through it, but when he asked her what the doctor's diagnosis was, she shook her head. "They said they didn't know. Must be some sort of new disease." Actually, there was a diagnosis for it, but Kushina didn't voice it because she didn't even believe it herself.

* * *

(A Week Later)

"We're over." The Hokage solemnly stated to Fugaku. He was the only one who would go with the blonde to eat ramen. "Ever since that time we went to the hospital, she's been avoiding ma and not talking to me like she used to." He stared into his half full bowl.

Fugaku smiled and clapped him on the back. "Just hang in there. Mikoto and I went through the same thing at one point, and look at where we are now. I have a son and a second child on the way and we still love each other a lot." He finished his ramen, put down some money and left. "See you tomorrow."

* * *

(Another Week Later)

The door opened. "Hey Hiashi. Where's Sumiko?" Kushina looked oddly tired and worn.

The Hyuuga heir shook his head. "She is at the training grounds."

"Oh. Ok thanks." Kushina wandered around them and found her friend practicing her Taijutsu by herself at training ground 26. "Hey, Sumiko!" She began to run but a major pain stabbed her in her stomach, reducing her to a walk. The dark blue-haired kunochi stopped in the middle of a roundhouse kick and punch combo and approached the 'sick' woman.

"What are you doing here Kushina?" The two hugged.

"I want… to talk to you about… something." Kushina looked down and fiddled with her shirt.

By the look in her eyes and the tone of her voice, Sumiko knew that what she had to say was serious and wasn't all that good. "You know you can tell me anything and I won't tell, even if my life depends on it. What is it?"

She looked up. "You can't tell anyone at all about this, ok? This secret to me is like what happened to Minato when Sarutobi told him he was going to be the next Hokage. Got it?"

"Yeah, sure."

"If you… I don't know… got really sick and went to the doctor to see what you had and then discovered you weren't sick all along, what would you do?"

Sumiko was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Like you weren't sick at all but you had a little person growing inside you? What would you do?"

The other woman's eyes widened. "No way… A-are you really?" She squealed like a crazed fan-girl. "Oh my god, when did it happen? Was he good? How long did you…?" She grinned devilishly. "Oh Hiashi better get his act together... Screw that, I'll make him."

Kushina gave her a look. "Do you really want to get pregnant? It really messes up your life, especially the ninja part. The doctor told me that before long, the baby is going to start making its own chakra and that going to screw up my own system, so then I can't do a damn thing as a ninja at all. Then you don't earn money and so then you go broke and stuff, all because you get knocked up." She waved her arms around for emphasis.

Sumiko put up her index finger. "Number one, you are married to the fucking _Hokage_.You will _never_ go broke. _Ever_. I'm engaged to the Hyuuga heir. He will inherit the name of the richest and most powerful clan in Konoha. I certainly won't end up in the streets. Two, Minato loves you and would do nothing to hurt you, nor be disappointed for romping around in bed with him and as a result, carrying around his future child. Actually, I bet he's itching to get the Namikaze clan going again and having a family of his own. In my case, Hiashi will need an heir after he passes on, so me and him will definitely have kids at some point."

The redhead sighed in defeat. "I guess you're right… You and your damn logic."

The victor smirked. "So, when are you due?"

"October 14. I'm going into my sixth week now."

"And when did this sickness start?"

"Three weeks ago…" Kushina said meekly.

"WHAAT!?" Sumiko screeched. "It's been two weeks since you found out and you still haven't told him? You've been avoiding him all this time?" She grabbed her friend's wrist. "Come on, we are going to tell him, like or not."

"No! Oh no no no please no!

"You're going to have to tell him at some point!"

Kushina grimaced. Her friend was right… again.

Five minutes later via Sumiko's back, the door to the Hokage's office burst open. "Minato, your wife has something to tell you!" Kushina was dragged in by the wrist by a very irritated looking Sumiko. Her eyes were pleading not to tell, but to no avail, as she was forced to stand right in front of his desk.

Minato looked at her questioningly, wondering if this was the reason why she was so withdrawn from him all this time. "So? What is this thing you have to tell me?"

"You tell him or I will." Sumiko growled.

The Uzumaki began twiddling her thumbs and looked down. "A-Ano, Minato-kun, I-I-I'm, I'm, I'm…"

"I'm what?" he raised his eyebrows.

"I'm p-p-"

'Hoooly shit. No way. No no no.'

-regnant."

He fainted.

Sumiko smiled. "Well, I think that went well. My work here is done." She left the incapacitated kunochi to her husband.

* * *

Minato woke up on a mysterious couch. He slowly sat up and groaned, head buzzing. "How long have I been out?" he moaned.

"Finally awake, honey?" Kushina sat in the chair nearest him. He jumped. "I had a guard bring you back here from when you fainted."

Her voice brought back what she had said just before he passed out. Minato turned towards her and asked the question. "A-Are you really… pregnant, Kushina-chan?"

"Do you remember your valentines day gift?"

"Yeah…oh. That's when it happened."

"Good going Sherlock! So you took your own wife, a very strong and able kunochi, an ANBU nonetheless, out of the ninja ranks. This is your fault, not mine."

He put his face in his hands. "I'm really screwed over now. I'm not ready." He mumbled.

"What was that?" His wife leaned down, putting her head level with his.

"I said I'm screwed. I'm not ready to be a father. I was hoping to wait a bit longer. We can't help it now, I guess."

Kushina moved onto the couch beside him and put an arm around his shoulders. "Of course you're ready. You just don't believe you are." She patted her stomach. "Hey, I have it worse. I have to carry this thing around for another seven and a half months, then I have to give a painful birth, and _then_ finally there comes breastfeeding and taking care of the baby. I'm going to go friggin crazy." She got up. "When we learn what it's going to be, I'm going shopping. Whatever the sex, we're going to color the room some sort of orange."

* * *

(Four Months Later)

Kushina looked at the screen showing the baby inside her. "So?"

The doctor moved the instrument around to the side of her patient's belly. "Looks like it's a boy." She put it back in its holder.

Kushina sat up with some difficulty and put down her maternity shirt. "Good. Boys are tough." Mentally, she was jumping for joy because this meant she could now go on a shopping spree.

Later in the week, she and Sumiko did just that, buying orange boy oriented things. One odd thing Kushina couldn't help buying was a large orange fox plushie. She came home, arms full and from the nature of the items, Minato figured he was to have a son. Now only one thing remained to be decided. The name.

* * *

"Don't say that Jiraya-sensei. I thought it was great!" Minato held up the green book. "It was really cool when the character didn't give up, not for one second."

Jiraya leaned back and sighed. "Yeah, but it didn't sell."

"Who cares if it didn't sell? It's a good story."

Kushina came out of the kitchen. "We liked it so much that we decided to name our son after the main character."

"A-Are you sure? I was eating some ramen and it was just a random name that popped into my head-"

"Naruto… It's a beautiful name." She came over and put a hand on Minato's shoulder.

* * *

( October 10 )

Minato and Kushina were getting antsy, as Naruto was due in four days. Kushina spent the last few days taking walks through the park with a seven month pregnant Sumiko and watching children play on the playground, imagining her son among them. "Sumiko," she began as they were sitting on a bench, "you never told me what you were going to name your daughter."

"Hiashi and I haven't decided yet but we're thinking of naming her Hinata." she replied.

"Towards the sun… from the province of light … **(A/N: I will explain this later.)** I like it. It has a nice meaning. You-" Kushina stopped in mid-sentence. "Aah!" she shifted around in her seat. "I think… Oh shit my water just broke."

* * *

The door banged open for the millionth time that day. A Medic Nin ran in.

"Hokage-sama, your wife is in labor!"

Minato rose form his seat, a twinkle in his eye showing his joy of finally becoming a father. "Where is she?" he demanded.

"She just came into the delivery room at the Konoha Hospital, sir!"

The Hokage nodded and body-flickered to the hospital entrance. He had placed a seal on the doorway a week before in case something like this would happen. He strode up to the desk, people watching and wondering why on earth the perfectly healthy Hokage was here. "Where is the delivery room?" he asked the secretary.

She pointed down one of the halls. "Down there."

"Thanks." He ran down the hall, her name running through his mind. Skidding to a halt in front of the fifth to last door on the right, he saw her on the hospital bed, red hair disheveled, face scrunched in pain, white knuckled hands gripping handfuls of sheets. Minato smiled, thinking about how beautiful she was. "Kushina." He whispered. As if hearing him, her head snapped in his direction and he saw in her eyes a mix of pain, anguish, love thanks and a desire not to give up. He rushed to her bedside and took her hand in his. "Where's Sumiko?" he asked.

A chain of words between breaths told him. "Home…too…tired…to…come. Wishes…she could…"

He looked at the doctor. "How long?" he asked him.

"Half an hour. Everything is normal." He pointed towards the machines. Minato looked at the numbers, but what they told him was definitely not normal. Her heart rate was thirty beats above her regular rate.

"You call that normal!? Its way over!"

"It's normal for labor." Just then Kushina arched her back up out of the bed, screaming. Minato could have sworn he heard a bone or two in his hand crack.

"Come on honey, you can do this! You can do this! I believe in you! Believe it!" he gripped her hand even tighter. He felt bad because all he could do was give encouragement. He couldn't do anything else. He couldn't take the pain away, no matter how much he wanted to. Even if it was the slightest amount, he would shoulder it for her. For the first time in his life, Minato was powerless.

He sat there, watching her, holding her hand, urging her on for hours until the messenger came, telling of the great catastrophe that would ruin his family from that day foreword.

"Hokage-sama, the Kyuubi no Kitsune is here!" Minato's mind went from family mode to Hokage mode in an instant. "Where is it? Is it in the village?" he demanded.

"No, but it is a few miles outside the walls."

"Send all the ANBU, Jounin and Chuunin to intercept it. It cannot be stopped by simple fighting means. Also, send for the Sandaime and tell him to meet me in my office. Go!" the man ran out the door. Minato turned back to his sweaty and exhausted wife and looked her in the eye. "Kushina, I love you. I have loved you since the day we met at Ichiraku's and I would die for you without a second thought. Though what I am going to do now to defeat the Kyuubi will kill me. It will change your life and our son Naruto's life in more than one way." He gripped her even tighter. "This is the last time you will ever see me alive. I am going to use the Reaper Death Seal."

Kushina's eyes widened. "M-Minato…please… no. Not… Naruto. Seal me… instead. P-please."

He shook his head. "No Kushina. I can't seal you. With power that great, the power of the Kyuubi will need undeveloped chakra coils of the sealed person will die. When Naruto grows up and becomes a shinobi, his chakra coils will form with the influence of the Kyuubi's chakra. He will be able to use its chakra. He will have great power, Kushina. He will grow to be the strongest there has or ever will be. Trust me." He tried to convey all the love he could never express and sadness he was feeling right now through his eyes. "I love you and I love our son." Minato leaned over and kissed her with a passion, putting every feeling he had into it. Just as Kushina reached up to touch his face, he broke away. Giving her one last look, he body-flickered to his death.

"Minato…" she softly cried.

"He's almost there, Mrs. Namikaze! Just one more push!" said the doctor.

"MINATOOOO!!!!!!!" screamed Kushina in agony, arching her back off the bed as she gave one final push. A baby started crying.

* * *

(At the Hokage office)

"Sarutobi-san, when Naruto is cleaned and Kushina has held him, bring him to the small shrine on top of the Hokage monument, set up a ring of nine ceremonial candles around him. Tell the village to view him as a hero. Actually, bring him here first. I want to see my son before I die."

"Minato, why don't I seal the Kyuubi? You taught me the technique. You could live with Kushina and Naruto."

"No. This is something that the Hokage must do. I will make this sacrifice for my son."

"Hai, Minato-sama."

* * *

Sarutobi walked in to find Kushina holding an infant Naruto. She looked up at him, pleading not to take her son. He understood but shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry Kushina. I wish things could be different too, but this must be done." He slowly took the boy out of his mother's arms and said, "I'm sorry." one more time then ran out of the room.

* * *

"Minato…" the Sandaime came it holding a bundle of white blankets. He handed it to the Hokage.

He removed the sheet covering his son's face. He could only say one thing about what he had helped create; perfect. Naruto was half asleep and grabbing towards his father's face, but he had a tuft of blonde hair and blue eyes, just like him.

Minato wished that he could have at least an hour with his child but he knew that it wasn't possible. So then he gave the only gift he could right now. Minato kissed his son on the forehead and held him close. "Namikaze Naruto, take care of your mother. Love her as I have. That is all I ask of you." He whispered in his ear. Minato kissed Naruto one last time and handed him over to Sarutobi. He turned away to hide the silent tears. "Go now." he commanded. The Sandaime bowed and left.

'You are a great Hokage, Minato-sama. You are better than I ever was. You are the greatest of us four.'

* * *

A cry went up. "The Yondaime! The Yondaime Hokage is here!" many of the men and women cheered as Minato came up riding on the top of the head of Gamabunta.

He stood there, analyzing the situation. The Kyuubi was at least the size of a ten story building at the shoulder and each of its tails was at least the length of a football field. Its fur was a dark red-orange with black tipping each of its tails, ears and paws. Red, bloodthirsty eyes immediately focused on its new opponent. It bared its giant teeth and began to advance.

"Everyone, fall back!" he yelled out. He performed the hand seals, summoning the Shinigami. "Reaper Death Seal!" the purple claw of the death god reached around Minato and went into the head of the demon fox, grabbing his soul and chakra.

The Bijuu roared in agony which could be heard for miles around. The claw slowly pulled out a bubbling red mass out of the Kyuubi and once it was free, it flew back towards the village. It went over the Hokage Monument and spiraled down like a cyclone into Naruto's belly. The soul and chakra was pushed in and the claw went in itself before retracting out and flying back to the Shinigami.

Once Minato felt the Kyuubi was in its new prison, he did a snake hand sign. "SEAL!!" the claw once again came from its owner, plunging into the Hokage and slowly separated his soul from his body, painfully and antagonizingly slow. His eyes rolled back into his head, his body stiffened and his head snapped back 'Good bye…Kushina. Good bye…Naruto.' His body crumpled on top of the toad's head, lifeless.

* * *

Sarutobi sighed. "It is done." He took Naruto from the ring of candles. The first thing he noticed that was different about the child was the three whisker-like marks that appeared on either cheek. Then he noticed the seal on his belly that glowed bright red. He adjusted the crying baby so it would be easier for him to run to the hospital. He got there, returning the child to Kushina. She appeared more distraught and tired than ever before, holding herself tightly and shivering. When he showed her Naruto, she immediately calmed down a lot, though not entirely, and snatched him up.

"Its okay darling, mommy's here, mommy's got you. Shhh, everything is going to be alright." Kushina whispered to him, tears streaming down her face, cradling him close and brushing his new face marks. Sarutobi stood there, watching the broken and scared mother fawn over her living reminder of her dead husband.

"Kushina…tomorrow, we'll…talk," said the Sandaime before walking out of the room knowing that tomorrow would be just one bad day after another.

* * *

**A/N: ;-; It was so hard to write Kushina giving birth and talking to Minato. I don't know why, it just was. Probably beacuse it was such a sad and defining point in the story. **

**Ok what Kushina means is something from Japanese folklore. I was reading this book that my dad lent me about Japan's history. The mythical story of creation said something about the son of some gods coming down to the Earth and he landed in the land of Hyuuga, which is on the southernmost major island of Japan. That's what she means by the "Province of light" **

**Hey did you guys also know that there was a land (a large one too) called Nara?**

**GIve me some love (dattebayo!) in the form of many reviews and I'll update. I need something to make me feel better after writing the depressing scene.**

**Next Chapter (hopefully I don't change my mind): Kushina's fate is determined, and a teenage Naruto gets the shock of his life.**

**USD**


	8. The End of the Beginning

**A/N: Very sorry for the wait!**

**This is the last chapter that has Kushina alive in it, and thus, the final part of her life story. I orignally planned for this to be longer, like to the point where Naruto gets the letter from the Uzumaki clan, but that to me, is really long. That'd be another 5-6 pages in Word. **

**Since this is a benchmark chapter for this story, I would like to thank VFSNAKE for being my beta. His little edits and contributions made this story ALOT better.**

**Read and Review please! **

* * *

Chapter 8- The End of the Beginning

The streets were empty. No one, not even a cat or dog, was out. Everyone felt the pain of losing the Yondaime, one woman more than them all.

She sat in a hospital bed, holding a baby she had just given birth to not twelve hours ago. It was his son. Her son. Their son. The last living piece of Namikaze Minato.

The boy had a blessing and a curse laid upon him by his father the night before. Inside of him, the Kyuubi was sealed, a fact that many of the people knew, but they did not know he was the child of their hero.

The woman was startled out of her thoughts when someone knocked on her door. "Kushina, its Sarutobi. If this is a bad time-"

"No." she interjected. "Now is fine."

He came in holding something behind his back. "We need to talk about this situation." He nodded at the boy. "What do you plan to do?"

"I don't know… It's just so bad, so messed up. I don't know which way to turn. I don't know what to do. All I know is that I don't want to lose him."

"You won't lose him, I can promise you that. Right now, you and he are now the village's highest priority. He'll help you through this and give you support, but you have to make the decision. In the meantime, we have arranged for Minato's funeral to be tomorrow at 9am on top of the Hokage tower. I hope you can come," said the Sandaime looking at both Mother and child with a firm gaze.

Kushina looked down at her son, hair veiling her face. She admired him as he slept, giving him a small smile. "We wouldn't miss that."

"I…think you should have this." Sarutobi brought the item out from behind his back. It was a forehead protector, scratched and scarred from numerous battles. She reached for it with her free hand and he gave it.

Kushina looked at the ends of it and saw in white thread the Namikaze clan symbol embroidered on one of them, signifying its former owner. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she started to shake her head, thrusting it back at him.

"I can't-"

"Keep it. It was his, now it is yours. When Naruto grows up and becomes a shinobi, give this to him and have him wear it. Have him continue his father's work."

"How could he? He won't be able to learn Hiarishin no Jutsu or Rasengan or anything else he created."

"Actually, in the Hokage library, he left a scroll, describing how to do both of those techniques and others he deemed useful, such as the Kage Bunshin. He will learn."

* * *

(Next Day)

It seemed that the sky was mocking them all. It was clear any sunny, not a cloud to be seen, ironically like his eyes and smile she noted. Bright and warm.

She sat at the beginning of the first row of Shinobi in a wheelchair, wearing a black dress, holding Naruto. Sarutobi stood in front of the casket, also dressed in black. The coffin was covered in red and white linens, the colors of the Hokage. His picture sat in front of it on a table, covered in a white cloth.

"Namikaze Minato, you will be remembered in our minds and in our hearts." He said loud enough for all on the top of the Tower to hear, facing away from the masses. "We thank you for saving our lives two nights ago from the wrath of the Kyuubi. You died honorably. May Kami grant you safe passage to the afterlife." He bowed deeply, showing his respect for the deceased man, the crowd following suit. Kushina closed her eyes, bowing her head.

Sarutobi placed a yellow rose in front of Minato's picture, and a Medic-Nin wheeled the widow over to the table. Kushina placed her rose down, but her hand lingered over it, even as she was moved away. Every Nin followed suit, placing a rose on the table then returning to their place in the rows of people. After everyone had done so, Sarutobi said, "Now bow your heads and pray for him, pray for our hero."

* * *

Kushina, discharged from the hospital the next day, went to Sarutobi and asked him to have Kakashi and Rin help her move out of the Hokage mansion and back into the Namikaze estate since they were the only ones of the younger generation who knew of Naruto. As she packed the boxes, she couldn't help but sit down with her favorite picture. It was of her and Minato kissing, his hand on her swollen belly. She remembered it was taken a mere few weeks before Naruto was born. And as she looked at it, the realization that her blonde lover would never be there came crashing down on her. 

Sumiko visited often and tried to make her friend feel better about this whole ordeal, but it really was not helping. "Kushina," she would say, "come on, snap out of it! Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"He's gone Sumiko, he's gone. And it's so scary because I have Naruto here. I love him to death, but he's just like his father. He's barely a week old! He looks like him, he acts like him, he reminds me of him so much, hell, and it makes me want to go berserk I miss him so much. I have no idea what to do with myself now. I'm helpless and hopeless Sumiko." She buried her face in her hands. "Help me."

The pregnant woman put her hands on her friend's shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Girl, you have _him_. _He_ is the reason you should keep going. _You _are his only family. If you go, the village might _kill _him because they all know he has the Kyuubi inside him. If you go, hewill_ die. That _is what you have to do."

"But it's so much to take on. How can I-"

"You will be able Kushina. You are one of the toughest women I have ever met or known. You can do this."

She came over, day after day, saying the same thing over and over. All those nights, she lied awake in her childhood bed with Naruto on her chest, thinking about what Sumiko had said over and over. She replayed it like a movie, pausing it here, rewinding it there, and then skipping over to _that_ part. She let the words sink in, words that had an undeniable truth.

'Without you, he will die… last of the Uzumaki and Namikaze… You are his family… He is the reason…'

Naruto was almost a month old when she arrived at her decision, but it was already too late. It had rooted itself in her.

* * *

May 1st was approaching, and fast. Kushina was extremely excited. She had dropped her son and 'Mr. Fox,' his inseparable stuffed plushie, off at 'Auntie Sumiko's House' to play with Hinata so she could talk to the reinstated Hokage about being out back into the Shinobi ranks. She knocked on his office door. "Can I come in Sarutobi-san?" 

"Sure." He knew what she wanted so he went straight to the point. "Before you can regain your status as an active-duty ANBU, two things must be done since you were out of service for so long. One, a thorough medical examination to make sure you are healthy and two, a one week redemption course in the basic ninja arts to refresh your memory if you have forgotten. After that, the first available mission for you skill level you make take."

She bowed. "Thank you. When would those be?"

"The examination could be tomorrow, if you would like. Next week, you could start in the course so you could be back in service by May."

"I would like that very much."

He nodded. I will send you a messenger by tonight with the time."

* * *

(Two Days Later)

Kushina was once again speechless at what the doctor had told her in his report. She read it over and over, her stomach plummeting with each word. 'Oh my god…. This can't be right. This can't be happening.' Sumiko was her refuge ever since that fateful October night. She decided to keep its contents secret until they met next, brooding over them all the while.

"Is this…true?" said the dark blue haired Hyuuga woman asked after she read the paper. "Are you really…dying?" She was sitting on the floor with Hinata between her legs

"What does it say there?" Kushina, sitting on a couch, bounced Naruto up and down on her knee.

Sumiko read the lines again. 'We regret to inform you, but your blood work results from you exam show that you have contracted a lethal disease. This disease is only seen in people who have lost large amounts of blood in a short period of time, such as slicing a muscle in half in combat, losing a limb or childbirth. There are treatments for it, though only for the early stage. You have evidently had this for six and a half months and so now it is in its second stage of development.' She looked up at her friend. "Kushina-"

"I'm sorry," the widow whispered, holding her son close. "I'm sorry I can't be there to watch both of you grow up." A sob escaped her and Sumiko picked up Hinata, putting an arm around her best friend's shoulders.

* * *

"I am aware of the situation." Sarutobi said, leaning on the rail on top of the Hokage tower, facing the village. "What you do with your son is entirely up to you, in terms of who will take care of him." He turned around to face her. "I don't expect you to have made a decision yet, but do you have an idea of who will take care of him?" 

"Yes. I will give him to the orphanage."

He definitely did not expect that answer. "The orphanage? Why the orphanage? Why not Sumiko? You two are so close."

"It's because of Hiashi." She solemnly stated. "I'm afraid he's going to try to accept him too much and try to train him to be a Hyuuga when he's four when he is clearly not one. I know of this, as I have seen it when I visit her. Usually in the courtyard, there might be a young Hyuuga around the age of five or six and I have seen them faint a few times they were pushed so hard by their teachers. Then they grow up to be cold and harsh like some Hyuuga were in the academy classes above me. I don't want that. Plus, he has no living relatives besides me. You have your own kids that you have to take care of, so you are out of the picture. The only thing left is the orphanage. Then he'll have a chance at a normal life, since I won't be there for him."

He furrowed his brow. "I still don't understand."

"I want Naruto to grow up in a place that doesn't put heavy expectations on him at such a young age. That if anything, will destroy him. Besides, he's a Namikaze and an Uzumaki so it should be a cake walk for him."

Sarutobi turned back around. "Well, this is your decision. He will go to the orphanage."

"Yes. Can I make one more request?"

"What is it?"

"When I…go and he…goes there, can you make sure his fox goes with him?"

The Hokage shook his head. "The irony in it all…" he muttered.

She heard him. "I know."

"Also, since he's going there, we should change his last name to your maiden one."

Why, is Namikaze not good enough?"

"It's for his protection. Minato made that name infamous. When enemy ninja villages learn he bears that name, is the son of the one who made it so and has the Kyuubi sealed inside him, they will try to kidnap him and kill him or twist him to their own designs. The ultimate revenge against him," said Sarutobi knowing that with his children he had become extremely watchful due to his own enemies.

"Oh. Right."

"So his name will be changed to Uzumaki Naruto."

* * *

'How will he remember me?' Kushina thought while lying awake in bed that night. 'How could I tell him that I love him?' she looked down at the blonde baby sleeping on her chest. She loved the way he was so small, his head fit perfectly under her chin. Bringing a hand up to stroke his short golden hair, she thought about those few times that he and she had had together. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(One Month Ago)

Kushina came in, too tired and lazy to cook anything. She went over to the cabinets and took out a container of instant miso ramen. She put Naruto in his high chair and proceeded to boil water and pour it in. the boy started to cry when he had smelled the food. Kushina paused in taking the first bite and put both her chopsticks and meal down on the counter.

"What's wrong?" she baby talked to him. Picking Naruto up she asked, "what's wrong my little Naruto-kun?" she walked around the kitchen, bouncing him. Normally he would stop immediately and start giggling, but tonight Naruto wanted something. When they passed the steaming cup of noodles on the counter, his cries lessened but went right back up when his mom started walking away.

"My god, you're so much like your father. You want my ramen." Kushina put her son back in his chair, much to his displeasure. Taking out the blender, she poured half her dinner into it and let it run for a minute. When the bowl of watery ramen mush was placed in front Naruto, is face went from one of sadness to joy. Kushina, grinning, took out his baby spoon and began to feed him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That same grin was plastered on her face now. Then she remembered when Hinata was born.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sumiko came into her living room, holding a bundle of cream colored blankets. Her breath caught when she saw the huge Christmas tree covered in garland, lights and glittering ornaments. "Hiashi, it's… beautiful. When did you do this? You were beside me the entire time."

He leaned down and kissed his wife. "I'm glad you like it. It was a pain rushing around when you were asleep, I barely got any sleep myself." Hiashi looked down at his new daughter. "She was worth it though."

A sudden thought struck Sumiko. "Wait a second, the tree is almost a week late!" she pointed at Hinata. "She was born two days after Christmas!"

The Hyuuga clan head started to blubber. "I-um… well, erm, I-"

Just then Kushina saved Hiashi, huffing and puffing, towing three gargantuan baby bags her friend had, plus her own for Naruto, plus the said boy. "Where do you want these?" she said now clearly irritated.

Sumiko's eyes never left the pale ones of her husband. "Put them on the couch."

"Well, um, can I… hold her, maybe, while, you uh stand up?" he nervously asked, afraid that she might clobber him at any moment. She always did that when she was angry or pissed at him. She glared at Hiashi one last time before giving up Hinata and she stood up out of the wheelchair.

"God it feels so good to stretch my legs after sitting in that bed for four days." Sumiko took back her daughter and walked over to Kushina who was holding a 2 and a half month old Naruto. "Hey Naruto, meet your new friend." She brought Hinata right up next to him. The boy curious about this new arrival, made a grabbing motion at her. He managed to get a bit of the blanket she was wrapped in and tugged on it.

"I think he might want to get closer." Kushina whispered.

Later that night, since Naruto was inseparable from the new Hyuuga heiress, the Namikaze's stayed over. In fact, he was so attached to her that he cried when she went to bed with her mother and father.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kushina smirked. 'That was an awesome night." Her smile faded. 'Too bad we won't be able to do it again.' A quick glance at the clock told her it was a bit after 2 in the morning. 'I need to write this all down. It's the only way I'll remember.' She picked Naruto up off her chest and put him to the side of her. Pulling off the covers, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and turned around to put her son in the warn hollow of the bed where she had just been. She tucked the covers up to his small chest and turned away to her desk.

'I have a feeling...a feeling that I won't get any sleep tonight.' She sat down, pulling out pen and paper and began writing.

_Hey Naruto…

* * *

_

"Sumiko, could you give this to Naruto when he becomes a Genin?" Kushina handed her friend a large, yellow, stuffed envelope.

"What is it?" she asked, taking it into her hands. "What did you put in here? It's so heavy!"

"Just give it to him when he becomes one. He'll know what to do."

* * *

The hot July night was oddly silent, although Kushina hadn't noticed. She was simply too tired to do anything. Lately, she noticed that her strength was slowly diminishing. She blamed 'that fucking disease' as she normally called it. Lying on her couch in a tank top shirt and shorts, she napped, forearm thrown across her face. 

Naruto woke up and began to cry again. His mother stirred and grumbled something along the lines of "stop" and "weeks ago." Kushina got up and groggily made her way to the kitchen to get him his midnight snack, which was what he usually wanted. She got out the carton of baby formula and measured the normal amount. Just as she was filling up the tea kettle though, something felt like it was crawling up her throat, burning everything it touched.

Kushina fell to her knees, coughing up a large glob of tissue and blood. Her eyes widened, recognizing what was happening to her. She crawled over to the corner of the kitchen where the phone was, blood slowly issuing from the sides of her mouth. Hoisting her herself up with her arms so she could reach the life line, she punched the numbers as fast as she could.

* * *

_Ring!_

"I got it honey." Hiashi grumbled, rolling out of bed. He sleepily made his way down to the living room. He picked it up and put it to his ear. "Hello?" he said groggily.

"Hiashi…" Kushina's voice came from the other end. Her voice was wheezy and weak. She coughed and hacked. "Get both your asses down here… as well as… Sarutobi's…" the line went dead.

All the former drowsiness was now gone from Hiashi's head. "Kushina!?" he yelled into the phone. "Kushina!!" he slammed the phone on the receiver, eyes shifting from side to side as he realized what was going on. Quickly, he picked it up again and dialed the number of the Hokage. "Come on, come on…' he thought, tapping his foot impatiently.

Sumiko came down holding Hinata. "What's all the yelling for, Hiashi-kun?"

"It's Kushina." He said. "I think she's dy- Sarutobi? Oh thank god... I can't explain now but… yes, it's Kushina… I don't know, she just told me to tell you to get us and Sumiko over to her house ASAP!... Just go!" he slammed it down again and grabbed his wife's hand. "come on, we're taking a midnight trip."

* * *

'They better get here… soon.' As if on cue, the front door slammed open. 

"Kushina!" came Sarutobi's deep voice. "Kushina, where are you?!"

Unable to talk louder than a whisper in her current condition, she groaned as if in pain. They heard her and came running but stopped dead in their tracks at the doorway. Sumiko gasped. "What the hell happened here?" said Hiashi. Sarutobi's eyes widened in horror and wonder.

Kushina was sitting on the floor, leaning on some cabinets, slumped over. A phone with a bloody handle hung over the edge of the counter next to her. On the other side of the kitchen, there was a spilled container of baby formula mingling with a small pool of blood. That blood continued to where Kushina was, and it also covered her tank top and shorts, coming from the corners of her mouth.

Hiashi ran to her side. "I'm no medical expert, but she's lost a hell of a lot of blood. Is there a medic team coming?" he asked the Hokage.

He nodded. "I sent for one just before I left." He turned to Kushina. "Can you speak?"

"A bit…" she croaked out. Then another coughing fit attacked her, and the lines of blood from her moth were renewed. "Don't try… to save me… guys. I'm past… that point."

Sumiko came over, holding both Naruto and Hinata. "Kushina!" she cried, tear rolling down her face. "Kushina…"

Despite the situation, the bleeding woman gave a small smile. "So this is how it ends… Minato dies a hero while I die quietly." She made a motion towards her son. "Come here you little rascal…" Sumiko gave him up, a pained look on her face while she watched her best friend. The dying mother held Naruto close to her, his head resting on her shoulder. "What did mommy always tell you? Straighten up little soldier. Don't cry when I'm gone. Believe in yourself 'cause remember that I love you." She bent her head and brushed her lips on his sun kissed hair. And, it remained there until it limply fell to the side, like it had lost the will to live.

* * *

(Many Years Later)

"Tsunade-baa-chan! I want a _real_ mission so I can get better than Sasuke while he's still in the hospital, not this D-ranked stuff!" said Naruto as he was right up in her face, yelling his head off. The Hokage put a hand on his forehead and using her insane strength, pushed him across the room into the opposite wall.

"Naruto, you will do the mission you are assigned! No arguing!" said Tsunade slightly ticked off that he called her an old hag.

He got up from the flop and rubbed his head. 'I forgot how much she can hurt. Just wait until I take your place then we'll see if you can get a drink anywhere in Fire Country.' Dragging his feet, he went back up to the assignment desk. "Alright… just give me the mission details."

Tsunade tossed the Genin a small scroll. "You will go to the Hyuuga clan complex and help them with constructing their bath house after it was destroyed in the Sound Invasion. You will work with them until it is finished."

"When does it start?" Naruto grumbled feeling that Tsunade was doing this to him deliberately for his own "protection".

"Tomorrow," said Tsunade trying to ignore the hurt she saw in his eyes at always doing D-Ranked missions.

* * *

Hinata fell backwards onto her bed and sighed. 'Another long day.' 

Today, she and the rest of team 8 had their first mission since she had fully recovered from her Chuunin exam match with her unforgiving cousin, Neji, and Tsunade the Sannin had been made the Godaime. He had almost killed her then, the fight had been so intense. Her thoughts brought her back to when she was well enough to go back home from the hospital. The first thing she did was go and pray at the Hyuuga shrine of her ancestors, thanking them and most prominently her mother for pulling her through her toughest trial by far.

'Mom,' Hinata thought, 'I miss you.' She got up from her bed and opened her closet. Reaching up to the top shelf, she took a small shoebox out but another, thinner, brown box fell down. She didn't know why she kept it because she didn't even know what was in it. It was just one of those mysterious boxes one would usually keep in their attic. Sitting down on the hardwood floor, Hinata opened the shoebox the reveal some photos, a necklace and a yellow ribbon. She took out her favorite photo, one of her, her mother and her father when she was one and a half years old. They were laughing at her father who was his daughter's "horse." He had a sheepish look on his face, embarrassed that he, the mighty Hyuuga clan head, was reduced to a mere child's play slave.

"That was before she died." She thought out loud.

"Before who died?" a familiar deep voice came from the other side of her bedroom door.

Hinata jumped in surprise and shoved the box and its contents under her bed. "N-No one Outou-san!" Her father opened the door, surveying her up and down. She was twiddling her fingers and looking at her feet as always, nervous about her father. Ever since his wife and her mother had died, Hiashi didn't like it when she came up in any conversation.

"Hn. Anyways, we have hired a ninja to help with construction on the bath house tomorrow. You are to serve him or her lunch and attend to their every need," said Hiashi his eyes as cold as ice.

"H-Hai Outou-san."

He began to leave, but paused at the door. "Dinner is in ten minutes." Without another notion, he left.

Hinata relaxed, sat down on her bed and sighed. 'Why do I always get like that?' She put her box of memories away, afraid that her father might almost catch her again. When it was safely stowed back in its hiding place, her attention turned to the thin brown box. It sparked her curiosity, wondering just why she kept it if it had no real use. She cut the tape with a kunai and shook it. A large yellow envelope and a folded piece of paper fell out. Ignoring the paper, she looked at the envelope. Two names, one very familiar and one she had never heard before were written on it. It read:

'_To my Naruto-kun_

_From Kushina'_

Hinata gasped, face going completely red at the thought of her crush and even more at the thought of another girl ruining her chances. She pushed both the thought and envelope away and snatched up the folded paper. This one was for her. This was a letter.

'_Dear Hinata-chan,_

_If you are reading this, then I have passed away…'

* * *

_

"Hi. I'm the Genin you guys hired to help you build your bath house." Naruto stood on the doorstep of the Hyuuga's, dressed in his orange pants, black shirt, forehead protector tied on his head and the Shodaime's necklace around his neck.

"Oh yes. Come in." the Branch family member stood aside and the boy walked in. "Follow me." He said. They went down what seemed an endless maze of white walled, dark wood floored corridors. Once, Naruto heard an "eep" from a passing hallway but when he looked, no one was there. After a few minutes of seemingly endless wandering, they came to a door that led to the outside. To say that the area which was formerly gardens would be an understatement and the size of the baths that were going to be built were nothing short of that.

There was a mix of branch members, mostly teens and adults that were already working. Even Neji was there. Naruto turned to his guide. "So where do I begin?"

* * *

Hinata quickly retreated behind the corner. "Naruto-kun?" she whispered to herself, blushing furiously. 'Naruto-kun is the ninja? Oh my god, I'm going to have to face him. What if he talks to me? What do I say?' as similar thoughts flew through her head, something dawned on her. "I could give him it today." The more she considered it, the more Hinata agreed with herself. She set off for the build site.

* * *

"Right, so we have to dig out the pools and places for the pipelines before we even start building?" Naruto asked with a dreading tone. 

"Yes. What's the point of having a bath house if you cant get water to it, much less use it?" replied the guide.

"I'm getting more work than I was told…" grumbled the boy. He hefted his shovel up onto his shoulder. "Where do I start digging?"

"Join the others. They'll tell you."

Naruto wandered over to Neji. Even if the guy was still a bit of an ass, he felt more comfortable talking to someone he knew rather than complete strangers. "Hey, Neji." The prodigy dumped his shovelful of dirt and looked up, sweat gathered on his brow. "Where do I dig?"

"Ah, so you're the ninja we hired."

A vein popped on Naruto's forehead. "Obviously."

Neji smirked. His hand made a wide sweeping motion. "You see all those small white signs stuck in the ground? Start digging between them."

"Thanks." He walked away, muttering something along the lines of "fight" and "hasn't changed." Beginning the backbreaking work, he didn't stop until the sun was high in the sky, bating down relentlessly on all who were under it.

Tired, thirsty and hungry, Naruto sat on the porch, took off his forehead protector and wiped his completely drenched brow. He stood up and went over to the Hyuuga in charge. "Hey." He tugged on the man's sleeve until he got his attention. "I'm going to Ichiraku ramen for lunch, okay?"

"No, stay here. My daughter, Hinata, will attend you."

Naruto wasn't expecting this. "H-Hinata? From team 8?" he raised his eyebrows. "Okay then…"

Hiashi went over and stood in front of a sliding door. "Hinata, go get our guest his lunch."

A meek "Hai" was heard from the other side, followed by the sound of someone running. A minute later, the door opened and Hinata, dressed in her navy blue pants and black shirt, came out with a platter of food. She wordlessly passed her father, head downcast to avoid the gaze of both people watching her.

To break this awkward silence, Naruto scratched the back of his head and grinned. "Well, Hyuuga-san, me and Hinata will just be down there." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder to where he sitting before. Hiashi just turned back to his work and the two young teenagers walked down the porch in silence.

The heiress was going crazy. 'Naruto-kun is so close! And he's so sexy-looking all sweaty…' she mentally kicked her perverted side of her mind to keep that and _other_ thoughts out of her head. 'Just keep walking, just keep walking…'

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice when Naruto said "here is fine." And he sat down. She just kept on walking." Hinata? Where are you going?" he asked.

He saying her name broke her reverie. "Oh I'm sorry" Hinata set the tray on his left and quickly bowed. "I-If there's a-anyth-thing you n-need Naruto-k-kun, I'll b-be in the p-previous room." She began to walk away, blushing furiously.

Naruto looked at her oddly. 'I never noticed it, but it's kind of cute when she blushes.' "Hinata, wait."

She froze and slowly turned around. "Y-Yes?"

He gave her a small smile. "Stay and have lunch. It'd be great to talk to someone I actually know."

Hinata's face turned a shade of red that would shame an apple. "O-okay." She sat down on his right.

Naruto turned away and grabbed two rice balls off the tray. "Is your dad always that cold to you?" he took a big bite out of one, chewing it thoughtfully.

The girl relaxed a bit and her face lost some of its color, although still bright pink. "H-he wasn't a-always like t-that. Wh-When my mother died g-giving birth to my sister, he started to become what he is now. I-I miss the old one, but he won't come b-back." She twiddled her thumbs. "That's for sure."

Naruto swallowed his food and looked down at the ground. "You don't know how lucky you are. I never even had a chance to know my parents. I don't even know who the hell they are. When I asked the people at the orphanage, the just gave me a dirty look and turned away." They sat there in silence before Hinata spoke up.

"N-Naruto-kun, stay h-here please." She got up and left and Naruto resumed eating his lunch. Hinata came back with a large yellow envelope, sat down and handed it to the blonde boy.

"What's this?" he asked and read who it was to. Naruto turned to the girl, bewildered. "Who's Kushina? One of your cousins?"

Hinata shook her head. "No. K-Kushina is your mother, Naruto-kun."

Another bite stopped halfway to his mouth. "You're joking."

"N-No! I f-found that in my c-closet last night! Your mother gave that to m-mine before she died, as f-far as I know."

He turned all the way towards her, giving her his full attention. "And how do you know this?"

Hinata pulled her knees to her chest. "My mom told me that i-in a letter." Abandoning his lunch, Naruto began to open it but the girl stopped him. "Don't open it here!" she hissed, placing a hand on his. "Open it back at your house where no one can see! There might be some really important information in it!" then, she snapped back to herself, realizing what she had done.

She quickly retreated her hand back and her blushing level went back up to max. Too embarrassed to say another word, Hinata stood up and ran, and left Naruto staring at the yellow package in disbelief.

* * *

**A/N: My my my, this was long. -ist. -er. -ing. Whatever. **

**If you have ever heard Vanessa Carlton's music, you WILL agree that she is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. My sister has one of her albums, Harmonium, and I copied the songs to my laptop, to which my sister got pissed, but it was worth it. On that album there's a song called "Annie." I don't know if you can listen to it on YouTube, I haven't checked, but during Kushina's death scene, play it low and read while you listen. The lyrics and story kinda match up, don't they? I might write a oneshot songfic I like it so much.**

**-Bangs head on keyboard- God damnit, why do write so slooow?**

**USD**

**Next chapter: The Uzumakis hear a rumor about a boy, at that rumor will change his future.**


	9. Rejected Decision

**A/N: This was a fast update (for me at least). There will be about the same time frame between updates from now on, now that the most complicated stuff is over. I know how, when and why things will happen now, not just knowing where I begin, where I end, and not having the foggiest idea at what goes in the middle, which is kinda what I was doing before. Ehehe...**

**Hey, does anyone kow of any 2D animation programs that are really good that make professional quality animations? I found this program by Smith Micro called Anime Studio 5. Its $50 and it looks to be good, but is there any program that anyone can reccomend that gives the same quality results at a lower price? I thought up an awesome NaruHina AMV that's from Hinata's POV and she's reviewing what has happened during the five years she has been gone from Konoha. It'll follow this story. That's why I need the program. PM me or if you don't have an account, put it into a review.**

**Anyways, my friend introduced me to HanaKimi, an awesome manga series. Kinda like the movie "She's the Man" with Amanda Bynes but the relationships are more serious and there are really funny moments in it. Its given me some fluff ideas for this story and even a lemon (!) idea but that won't come until MUCH later in this story. When I do write it (!!)... well, we'll see. -snickers evily- (!$#&)**

**Ah a cookie for you all! If you have ever seen 'Achmed the Dead Terrorist' by Jeff Dunham (you can see it on YouTube, its as funny as hell), there's a hillarious line he says, so look for a modified version of it in this chapter. I see someone has already noticed it... -coughcoughQuathiscoughcough-**

**As always, read and review! w00t!

* * *

**

**Chapter 9 – Rejected Decision**

"Myuri-san, I have some important information that I have heard in the market place today." The Uzumaki kneeled in front of the elder.

"What is it?" He was currently the clan head, as he was the oldest Uzumaki, but the two youngest elders at the time of the attack were there to keep things going when he died. Plus, there was the youngest in front of him now, reporting the future of the clan.

"There have been rumors of a boy at the Chuunin exams who defeated a Hyuuga prodigy and later, a Jinjuuriki by the name of Subaku no Gaara when Suna invaded his hometown of Konoha. From what people have told me, he was the dead last dropout in everything."

"Konoha? Isn't that where Kushina was sent?"

"Yes. What's more is this boy's name."

Myuri's brow furrowed. "He is Uzumaki?"

The said boy's grandmother smiled. "Uzumaki Naruto."

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, the very same boy, tired an exhausted, closed the door to his apartment, a thick yellow envelope in his hands. He sighed, and shook his head. 

'My god, what an eventful day. I gotta ask Hinata about this thing tomorrow,' thought Naruto ignoring his growling stomach, he went over and sat on the floor next to his bed.

He put the package on the floor in front of him and stared at it, as if he couldn't decide whether to open it or not. He made the former choice and undid the string at one end and shook it. An avalanche of photos came out, followed by a thick wad of folded paper and oddly, two forehead protectors. He picked up one of the pictures and studied it, trying to imagine what was happing at the time it was taken.

It was of a woman with very long red hair, holding a crying blonde baby and she was kissing his cheek. The infant had three whisker-like marks on each cheek and had a brand new stuffed fox in his hand. Naruto turned around and looked on top of his bed. That same animal, though patched in many places now, was on it, lovingly placed on his pillow.

"Heh, that must be me." He said out loud. "So that must be…mom." The word was so alien to him. Sure, he had heard other kids use it, but to actually say it and know who he was talking about was entirely different. Never in his thirteen years of life had he done that once. His parents always were a mystery to him, who they were, what they did and why they left him.

Looking at other photos, Naruto had to admit hat his mother was a beautiful woman, but there were others too that had another woman and her child in it. This one had dark, dark blue hair that went just past her shoulders and the baby's hair was the same color. Shaking his head, he picked the fat wad of paper and unfolded it. It was addressed to him in his mother's handwriting. He read it, eyes gathering tears of happines, laughter and sadness with each sentence.

_Hey Naruto-kun._

_It's me your mother Kushina. I know, this must be hard for you to read, but I am dying and your father can't take care of you either because he has passed on. Both of us didn't want this to happen. We wanted to have you grow up knowing us, but this is the only option for even one of us to talk to you. If we lived, your dad would teach you all these cool jutsus and maybe, when you got older, his signature S-ranked Jutsu and I would train you in taijutsu everyday. We'd make sure you, literally, turned out to be the greatest shinobi in history just like your father. If only that damn Kyuubi came on another night, this wouldn't be so. Maybe, your dad would be here to take care of you but I wouldn't. I'll explain what I mean by that later._

_Hopefully, if the village hasn't treated you too badly because of the damn fox sealed inside you, (How could I not know this? I'm your mother for cryin out loud!) you've turned out to be an awesome shinobi. Did you come out on top or did an Uchiha boy by the name of Sasuke do that? Personally, I never cared for them. To me, they were a bunch of arrogant bastards who thought they were better than everyone else and who needed to get the stick out that was stuck up all their asses. That boy's father, Fugaku, and your father were really good friends since he was head of the Uchiha police, despite the stick factor. _

_Hey, talking about clans and such, I want to tell you a bit about mine. You see, I wasn't born in Konoha. I was born in the Whirlpool Country, into the Uzumaki clan. We had the coolest sword skills, I remember. If you search through the gazillion photos there, you might find the old one of my mother, father and I. Its interesting how all the _very_ important guys in my life, including you, your dad and my father, had blonde hair and blue eyes. Anyways, I came to this village when I was four. My clan sent me here because of a man called Pain. I think if you looked where the site of my clan's house is or was, you wouldn't find a thing. I think it was because the Pain guy was so powerful that my clan felt threatened enough to send me here._

_Our swords and style were legendary, rumored to invincible. Of course, that's not the case, because everyone has a weakness of some sort. When I left, there were quite a lot of students and masters at our clan complex. Very few were foreign, as we rarely accepted them to train in our secret art, but most students were branch members of the clan. They had to have all died, unfortunately if that mysterious guy was so powerful and threatening. I think it they sent me because I was of the main line. Hey, don't get cocky and tell all your friends that. That's going to unfocus you from your dreams, whatever they are, if anything._

_After I moved here, Sarutobi-san showed me around the village. Oddly enough, later that day, two, no three amazing things happened. The first was that I had ramen. I never had the stuff before, so at the time it had felt like I had experienced something from heaven. The second was that I met your father. _He _was heaven. He was everything a girl could ever want and more. We were a bunch of ignorant kids at the time, and didn't realize we loved each other the second we laid eyes on each other. I know it sounds corny, but there was something about him I saw in him that day. He told me the same thing when were teenagers dating, and ready to go the whole nine yards… in bed. Hahaha, sorry it's my secret perverted side kicking in. Damn you, Ero-Jiraya-sensei!_

_Anyways, I'll tell you that story later. The third thing on that first day in Konoha was when your blonde genius of a father took me on top of the Hokage Monument and showed me the setting sun. I have never seen a landscape so amazing as that! What was really weird was the next day when I discovered his family was going to be my foster family, or in other words, the family who adopted me. That led to many awkward moments between us, including when he moved in with me six months after I got my own apartment, when we began to realize we had feelings for each other. Finally, at the Sakura festival, we got together as boyfriend and girlfriend when I was seventeen and everything fell into place after that. We got married year's later yadda, yadda, yadda, so on and so forth. _

_Then I got pregnant with you. Those were probably the best nine months I had ever lived. Unfortunately, that also meant I had to be taken out of the shinobi ranks as an ANBU. And I was so close too! I could feel that promotion to Captain! God damn it! I mean, uh, Kami, damn it._

_After your birth and the Kyuubi was sealed inside you, I took care of you. Though, the worst part was that you looked and acted so much like your father. It was creepy, because the Kyuubi claimed his life and it was sealed in you and you are your father's son. It was a weird triangle of hate and love. Anyways, I cried for many painful days over that, but my ever trusty childhood friend Sumiko snapped me out of it with her words, persuading me to keep going. She herself was pregnant with her first child, a girl who would grow up to be a noble Hyuuga. I hope both of them are doing well now. _

_Now this is the story of what killed me, why I'm not here now. Evidently, when I gave birth to you, I got some sort of lethal disease from losing so much blood. Ouchy. Unfortunately, I was diagnosed when it had already taken root in my body. There were cures for it, but only when it was still free-roaming in me._

_This is why I'm writing to you now, so I can talk to you, so you can know me and my life story, and let you know that I love you. I love you and never forget that. I love you, my son, and no one can take that away, even if I am dead and am watching you from heaven. Actually, you are the last living descendant of two clans, the Namikaze, your father's, and mine, the Uzumaki. Weird, huh? It must be fate! Not. I hate the idea of fate. Actually, I believe there's no such thing as that, only dreams. Dreams will guide you. _

_Before I forget, I want to tell you about your father. I won't tell you exactly who he is, because you might not be mature enough, but I have mentioned what he has done, what he looks like, etc. even his clan's name, so you might be able to figure him out. As I said, he was what most girls could only dream of. He was kind and considerate, knowing just how push your buttons or makes you feel better when you felt like crap. He didn't care what people thought of him, as long as it made him improve, feel good or make him better. Guys like him only come by once or twice in a lifetime._

_Others are just lazy, shy, assholes, or just want to get in a girl's pants (I noticed Ero-sensei will do anything to get in Tsunade's). Plus, he was popular, and had a bit of a bad boy attitude, but not to the extent I had when I was in the Ninja Academy. I was the prankster. I just loved the look on people's faces when they opened up one of my giant paint bombs! He was also considered to be one of the greatest shinobis in world history. Why? Among the foreign villages, he was known as the Yellow Flash of Konoha. He created so many Justus, even a middle level Chuunin wouldn't know that same amount himself. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if he was _the _best ninja ever. I'm probably biased though, probably because he was my husband._

_Wow, I just looked back at you. Right now, as I'm writing this, it is around 3 in the morning and you are behind me, sleeping soundly in my bed. I couldn't sleep tonight after I had a conversation today with Sarutobi-san about what would happen to you when I died. You're just so innocent and peaceful looking right now; it's kinda scary that you will grow up to be a killer. And I mean the most bad-ass shinobi ever!_

_Remember, I love you and don't forget that! _Ever!

_Your mom,_

_Kushina _

_PS: The forehead protectors are mine and your fathers. His has the Namikaze clan symbol on one end. Mine has the spiral, Uzumaki clan symbol. _

Tears were flowing freely down the boy's face as he lowered the paper onto his lap. This was all too much for him. His emotions were running wild. Naruto picked up the hitai-ates of his mother and father and looked at the ends. There they were on both, the spiral on one and a closed eye on another. He stood, eyes shut tight, and clenched his hands around them so much that the metal almost cut into his palms.

"M-Mom…D-D-Dad…" he stuttered, sitting on the bed and looking at the two leaves engraved on the scratched metal. Naruto grabbed his stuffed fox and clutched him to his chest, the forehead protectors in his hands. He cried into its dirty orange fur, blubbering jumbled words. The boy softly fell sideways, head landing on its pillow and he curled up into a ball, sobbing silently into the night.

* * *

She was so nervous, sitting next to him. He had invited her to eat with him again and now he was talking to her, asking her questions. She never believed he would be like this. 

"Oi, Hinata." Naruto waved a hand in front of her face.

"S-sorry." She shook her head. "I was just thinking about your question."

"Oh."

"I don't kn-know. I can't think of anybody th-that looks like that." the Hyuuga lied. She perfectly well knew who it was, because it was her and her mother.

He looked downcast. "Oh. I thought you might've known since your hair is a similar color… You know what I'll do? I'll bring it tomorrow when we finish building."

"Okay."

Naruto turned his eyes to the passing clouds. After a few seconds, he said, "What would you do Hinata, if you just discovered who one of your parents was after they remained hidden all your life? What would you say?"

She spoke after a moment's silence. "I don't know. I-I've always had my family here, no matter how mean it was to me. Why, what are you f-feeling now?"

He picked a stick up from the ground and rolled it between his palms. "That's the point. I don't know what to feel. I'm confused. I want to feel happy, but I think I'm in shock, but then again I feel sad because of what my mother had written. She wrote that I caused her a lot of pain after I was born because I was so much like my dad. My mom didn't tell me who he was either. She told me he was a great ninja and man as she put it, 'everything a girl could ever want.' I wish I could be like him."

The words left her mouth before she could catch them. "N-Naruto-kun, you already are." Hinata bit her lip and turned away; embarrassed she had revealed so much. Only her mental fortitude kept her from running away this time.

Naruto turned to her. "You really think so? All I ever so is screw up and cause trou-"

"It's because you fight for those you love, even if they don't return it. Y-you beat down that Gaara kid because you were fighting to protect Sasuke-san and Sakura-san, your friends."

"But how am I everything a girl could want? That's the hardest part. Sakura –chan keeps on turning me down. She's still obsessed with that bastard."

Hinata shut her eyes and shook her head. 'They don't see you like I do. They don't see how amazing you really are.'

* * *

"Baa-chan, here is the mission report." Naruto put a paper on the Hokage's desk and turned to leave. He waved his hand. "See you tomorrow." 

"Naruto, wait." Tsunade's voice had a serious and commanding tone to it. "I have received some very serious information concerning you."

He stopped in his tracks and sighed. "Great, what did I do now?"

"It's not what you have done, but of what you could do."

He immediately perked up and turned around upon hearing that. "Do I finally get another C or even B-ranked mission? Huh? Huh? Huh?" He started jumping up and down.

Tsunade shook her head. "No Naruto. Much more serious than that." She pointed to the chair in front of her desk. "Sit. This may take awhile to explain." The boy obediently did as he was told, eager to know what was more important than a higher ranked mission. Tsunade began. "Last night, I received a messenger hawk from a clan that is in the former Whirlpool Country. The-"

"Yeah, I know. My mother's clan, the Uzumakis." He said matter-of-factly.

"How-?"

"The day after you assigned me the building mission, the one I just completed, Hinata gave me a letter from my mom. I don't know how she got it, but it told me a lot of things, including that."

"Can I read it later?" the Hokage asked.

Naruto glared. "No. It's really private and I don't want anyone seeing it, at least, not now. Can you get on with the other thing about my mom's clan?"

Tsunade rubbed her temples and looked up, surprised by this new bit of information. "Right." She opened her desk and took out a small scroll. "Anyways, I received this last night from a messenger hawk. This is the decoded message, since it was in the code we used when I was a Jounin. What I do not understand is that about 32 years ago, the clan was reportedly destroyed by an unknown Nin. The only known survivor was your mother and even that fact is kept secret. This may be a trap, but I highly doubt it because of what it says. Here, read it." She tossed it to him. "They are inviting both you and your mother to come and train you for five years in the Kenbu-do. Do you now what that is?"

The boy though about the word's meaning. "Some sword style?"

"Not just any. Back when I was young, the Uzumaki's were a feared clan because their swordsmanship was so skilled and advanced. It was said that if one became a master of this style, the Way of the Dancing Sword, then they would become practically invincible. Now, since your mother has passed on, I would like you to choose someone to take with you on this trip, preferably a female friend of yours since they are expecting two people and one of them a girl. Make your decision soon because the clan's correspondent will be at the gates on Friday, so that's three days from now. They will be there at 9 AM to keep themselves from being tracked. Tell not a soul about this unless you plan on asking them to come with you. You're dismissed, but get back to me by Thursday with who you are bringing, if you are bringing anybody."

Naruto bounded out of the office, knowing already who he was going to ask. He found her as always, next to Sasuke's bed. As far as he could tell, she was always at his bedside. Sasuke still hadn't awakened from his coma after being put into one by his much hated older brother, Itachi.

"Sakura-chan!" the boy yelled when he opened the hospital door.

"Shhh! Naruto could you be any louder?" she turned and whispered. "You don't want to disturb Sasuke-kun, do you?"

His voice dropped to the same level as hers. "Sorry. I wanted to know if you would like to go on a five year training trip with me. We'd-"

"ARE YOU CRAZY!?" Sakura screeched, abandoning her former rule. "Why would I want to do that?! And especially you of all people!"

Naruto looked down at his feet. "Oh well um I thought you might've wanted to because we'd be training with my-" His face met the floor before he could finish.

"With who?" she said standing over him. "That pervert of a sensei you had for a while there? No! My answer is no! I won't leave Sasuke-kun, unlike you Naruto!" Sakura yelled down at him. She sat back down and turned back to the sleeping Uchiha prodigy she hoped to have someday.

Naruto dragged himself up. "S-s-sorr-"

"Whatever. I don't want to hear it, you Team 7 traitor." She waved him off not seeing Naruto scowling behind her.

"That's it." He growled. "You know what Sakura? If you want Sasuke-teme so much then you can have him and his bastard children if he lets you. Oh and for your information, I'm not the traitor of Team 7...Its YOU! When you finally realize that, then maybe you'll stop being a total bitch to me! I give you everything I have and what do you give me? Not a single credit for what I have done! I saved BOTH you and your precious god's asses and lives when I defeated that Gaara! You could have at least thanked me for that!" yelled Naruto, shocking Sakura as he left the room slamming the door behind him not caring anymore about the pink haired excuse of a kunochi.

He glumly went out the Hospital main door feeling utterly defeated that Sakura turned him down despite the fact he had let some of the frustration off his chest. He thought about how she had said what she said. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he exited the hospital and looked at his feet. 'She said she won't leave Sasuke. Man, she's so deeply into him that now that I think about I never had a chance. Oh well, I suppose when Sasuke treats her like dirt she'll understand its how I feel when she did it to me.' Naruto thought as he stared blankly ahead.

He made his way through the thin crowd of villagers, letting his feet take him wherever they pleased. Eventually, they led him to Ichiraku Ramen where he sat down and had a bowl of ramen to clear his head.

"Hey, Naruto-kun, you look like something's on your mind." Teuchi stood behind the counter drying a bowl.

"Yeah. The girl I really liked and who also happens to be my teammate just turned me down. It was something really important to me too and she didn't even let me finish explaining."

The old man chuckled. "Ah the old game of love. Fortunately I won and was rewarded for a beautiful wife and daughter."

Naruto stared at his reflection in his bowl. "Not helping."

Teuchi shook his head. "Naruto, how long have you been going after this girl?"

"About two or three years."

"That's two or three years too long. You should've started looking elsewhere ages ago. There's plenty of other fish in the sea that could appreciate you."

The boy snorted. "Yeah right. You know what happened all those years ago on my birthday, on October 10. They would think I'm… you know… _that._"

The man shook his head again. "Naruto, I know that fact about you and do I chase you away from my ramen stand? No. I know that you are Naruto and not something else. Besides, when I first saw you, I thought I had déjà vu of this other blonde kid who looked exactly like you that I serve in the early days of this business. My first impression was that you were just an ordinary boy that loved ramen but then one of my customers told me you were the _special_ child. Then I realized how wrong they were of judging you. The same goes with that girl you like, whoever she is. She doesn't see how good you really are and when she does, it will be too late."

Naruto looked at him questioningly. "Too late for what?"

"Hopefully by that time you will have given up on her and you'll be with someone who deserves and really appreciates a guy like you more. Just look around and see who has been nice to you all this time. I'm sure that there's at least one girl out there right now that does, even if she doesn't show it."

Naruto finished his ramen, stood up and took out some ryu to pay for his bowl. "Thanks Teuchi-san. I needed that." He waved his hand and walked out from under the flap. "See ya."

The man collected his money. "Bye Naruto-kun."

The sun had gone down a great deal during their 'man to man' talk. The boy walked eastward into the nicer part of town where there were less people by far. As he passed an old clan complex, something caught his eye. He stopped and looked at it, then at the wall. On it, there was a symbol that looked almost exactly like the one sown on his father's hitai-ate. Instantly, Naruto's mind clicked, making the connection, but the body began to run away, a single name running through his mind.

'Hinata!'

* * *

**A/N: Sorry about the Sakura bashing. I like her, I really and truly do, but it was for the sake of the story. Wahhh I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan! You will find redemption in Gaara-kun!**

**Kushina? Jumping all over the place while writing? Sure, wouldn't you if you were making a time capsule for your child who you were unintentionally going to abandon? Plus, not being able to sleep all night because you had a gazillion thoughts running through your head?**

**Yay! I'm soooo happy!!! I'm going to the AAU New Jersey State Karate Championships, in the Advanced division (3 plus years of training, I've been training for 7-8 years) as a brown belt and going to kick some ass! Then Regionals, then maybe even Nationals... Ohhh I can't wait!!!! -jumps up and down excitedly-**

**Now, things are being set in motion. For the story, at least. **

**USD**

**Next chapter: Naruto and Hinata leave, but they leave more behind than they thought.**


	10. Start Again

**A/N: I swear, my life hates me or something. I joined the spring track team and now my writing time has been limited to English class and the five minutes before I go to sleep. And thats just the writing in my notebook part. Excluding the typing.**

**On the bright side, I am officially going to the NJ State Karate Tournemant (3-30-08)and I have some confidence that I'm going to do well. I am soooooo excited! Wish me luck!**

**New record! 13 pages in Word!**

**The song for this chapter is Ordinary Day by Vanessa Carlton. It goes well with the it up unitl the last scene with Naruto and Hinata.**

**More A/N at bottom cause I can't say much more now.**

**Read and review please!**

* * *

**Chapter 10- Start Again**

_Tmp tmp tmp tmp_

_Pant…Pant…Pant…_

"Hey watch it kid!"

"Look where you're running!"

"What do you think you're doin'?"

'Hinata…Hinata… gotta find her… Ah! Here!'

Naruto skidded to a stop in front of the doors to the massive Hyuuga house. He went up and banged on the doorframe as hard as he could until a man he recognized as the girl's father opened it.

"Hinata! Where's Hinata?!" said Naruto excitedly trying look around the man real quick before finally looking at Hiashi when it proved useless.

Hiashi scowled. "What do you want with my daughter?" he said coldly.

The boy gulped a lungful of air. "I need to ask her something really important and I need to know where she is!"

"What do you want to ask her?"

Naruto took another deep breath, trying to catch it. "Tsunade-baa-chan assigned me to take a girl on a five year trip and I want to ask your daughter if she can come with me."

"Five years? That's a very long time. Where would you be going?"

"To the Uzumakis in what used to be the Whirlpool Country. They'd train us in their swords and stuff and make us strong!"

Hiashi could have sworn he had heard that wrong. "What? Slow down boy, you're talking too fast, I couldn't understand you."

Naruto took one last deep breath. "Uzumaki clan. Whirlpool country. Five years. Sword training."

It wasn't that Hiashi didn't trust the boy. He was his deceased best friend's son after all. It was the fact that Kushina had said her clan was destroyed for all those years. Had she lied to them all?

"But I thought the Uzumakis were wiped out?"

"It was. I dunno, but somehow it survived. So where is she? Can she come?"

"Hn." said the man, still puzzled by this piece of information. "Training ground 9." He closed the door, not even answering the second question. Naruto wasn't bothered at all by this. He ran as fast as he could to the woods that were that area.

_Bark! Bark! Bark!_

"Dynamic Marking!" A shot of warm yellow liquid landed on the blonde's head, drenching his hair. "Ah haha! Good shot Akamaru!"

Naruto wasn't amused at all. "Aghhh! Kiba, keep your stupid dog under control!" He shook his head vigorously, trying to get the piss out of it. The said boy landed in front of him while the ninja dog sat on a branch in the trees above them.

"What's he doing wrong? We're just training."

Naruto pointed to his hair. "He just peed on me! Never mind, where's Hinata?"

"Oh her? She's over there. Shino's helping her train her Byakugan." He pointed behind him to a small clearing. "Come on."

The boy followed his friend through the trees, glaring at the small dog that was jumping through the branches above. They came into the clearing. Shino was nowhere to be found, as he too was hidden among the trees and bushes, but Hinata was in the center. She had her bloodline activated, in her clan's taijutsu stance, breathing heavily and sweating a bit. She saw Naruto and quickly deactivated her Byakugan.

"Naruto-kun! W-what are you doing here?" she said as Akamaru jumped into her arms. Three days of conversation had lifted a bit of the awkwardness between her and her crush but it was still there, looming over her. She doubted it would ever go away, no matter how much they talked. "What happened to your h-hair? It's all wet."

He crossed his arms and huffed. "Akamaru peed on me."

She gasped. "Akamaru!" She held the little dog up to her face so they were nose to nose. "You bad boy! You know you only do that in combat!" Hinata said in a babying voice. Akamaru only barked in response and stared licking the girls face, tail wagging a mile a minute. She giggled, turning her head from side to side to try to avoid the pink tongue. When he licked her right behind her jaw line, the little giggles turned into a full laugh, causing her to fall to the ground. Hinata had let go of the dog and attempted to protect her smiling face with her hands from the friendly onslaught but without avail.

Naruto watched in amazement at the scene in front of him. This was the first time he had ever seen Hinata smile and it showed a different side he had never seen before. Here he saw a girl who was never nervous and shy, but happy. It was quite contagious too, as the corners of his mouth began to lift into one. 'She has a really nice laugh too.' He shook his head for a brief second. Where had those thoughts come from?

"Akamaru, come on. Not now." Kiba ordered. The dog stopped licking the girl, looked at his master, back at Hinata, licked her one last time and bounded over into the Izunuka's jacket. Kiba came over and helped his friend up as she wiped her still joyous face of dog slobber with her sleeve. "Naruto has something he wants to ask you, right?" He looked back at the blonde.

"Yeah, but… can I ask you in private, Hinata-chan?"

She stopped and her smile faded into one of masked confusion. Hinata-chan? When did that come from? Since when did he ever call her Hinata-chan? "S-sure." She said hesitantly, unsure of what to make of this new discovery. She followed him into the woods until they were a good distance from the clearing and away from prying ears.

"Hinata-chan," Naruto started, leaning back against a tree, "I-… uh-… I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me on a five year training trip with me."

Her eyes widened. "A-Ano, what?"

He sighed. Were all Hyuugas this deaf? "Do you want to go on a five year training trip with me? We'd be trained by the Uzumaki in their sword style."

Her face went red and she began to sweat. "F-F-Five y-years?"

_Thud_

"Hinata? Hinata-chan!" was all she heard before she blacked out.

* * *

(A Few Hours Later)

_Splash_

"Aaah!" she squeaked, sitting up quickly. She looked around, but her vision was blurry. "W-Wha-Wha happened to me? Where am I?"

"You fainted." A voice said nearby.

"N-Naruto-k-kun?"

"Yeah. Kiba and Shino went home. I told them I'd take care of you until you woke up," said Naruto not mentioning he got back at the Akamaru for the peeing incident. He made him eat some bad plant food (when Kiba wasn't looking) that would give the dog diarrhea for the next 3 days.

He was crouched next to her and they were by the stream in the woods. "We'd better get going." he said, looking at the sky. "The sun's about to set." He grabbed Hinata's hand and helped her up. They started walking out of the training grounds with an awkward silence between them. "Ano, Hinata-chan, what-"

She had stopped walking as soon as he spoke and stood there with her head bowed. He noticed, turned around and went back to her. He gripped her shoulders. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked, leaning down to try to make eye contact.

"Y-yes…" She lifted her head up but kept her eyes on her feet as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. "Yes. I-I'll go with you and train." Hinata said, ungluing them but she still didn't meet the boy's questioning gaze.

He flashed her one of his signature smiles. "I was hoping you'd say that. I sure as hell didn't want to bring Ino." They continued walking through he woods, but something kept on nagging Hinata.

"B-But what about Sakura?" she asked. "Why didn't you ask her instead of me?" They had left the forest and began to enter the village.

His head lowered. "Oh her… I did ask her first but she turned me down. How she said it made me realize that I'll never even have a chance with her, especially with Sasuke around." Said Naruto as he shook his head.

"To me, Sakura isn't a cherry blossom anymore. More like one of those poisoned plants that hates just about everything around it," said Naruto scowling at the thought of the pink haired girl and hoped she got treated like dirt by Sasuke while he was away.

Hinata gasped when he left the honorific off of his teammate's name. As the following silence drew out, she realized something very important. "Ano, Naruto-kun, I have to ask my father about this trip. I don't know if he'll let me… I'm next in line for the clan head…" They rounded a corner and went down the street that the Hyuuga mansion was on.

Naruto remained silent, wondering the same thing. 'Her father did seem like one of those stern, formal parents… but I don't know. It doesn't seem like he would just let her come. I can at least hope.'

They stopped in front of her door. "So you'll tell me tomorrow what your dad says?"

Hinata twiddled her fingers. "H-Hai."

"Are you going to be training with your team tomorrow like today?"

"Y-Yes. Kurenai-sensei is on a mission and she won't be back until the day after."

"Okay. I'll see you then." He flashed a smile and ran back the way they had come, waving at her as he went. "Bye Hinata-chan!! I hope your dad says yes!"

She raised her hand halfway but closed it as if she hadn't he courage to call back, which she didn't. A small, almost unnoticeable smile crept onto her face. "Bye Naruto-kun." She whispered as he disappeared around the corner.

Quickly, Hinata ran inside the manor, oblivious to the pair of pale eyes that had watched her through the whole thing from one of its upper floors.

* * *

(That Night)

Hinata nervously stood outside the door to her father's study, gathering the guts to go in and ask. She gulped silently, took a deep shuddering breath and opened the door. Her father was at his large mahogany desk reading a scroll. To the Hyuuga clan the bigger, the better. "Outou-s-sama, Uzumaki Naruto, one o-of my former classmates, he a-asked me-…a-asked me if-"

"He asked you if you would join him on a five year training trip to the Uzumaki clan, I know." he said rolling up the scroll and leaning forward at his desk. "He came here first looking for you."

"S-So-"

Hiashi cut his daughter off again. "Yes you can go." The girl's heart felt as if a hundred pound weight had been lifted off of it. "On two conditions." he continued. The weight came crashing back down on her, hurting more than ever. She had a feeling it wouldn't be so easy. "I spent a great deal of time this afternoon after he visited thinking about this. I came up with this. If during the time you are on this trip that I somehow die, your sister, Hanabi, will take over as clan head. Upon your return, you cannot claim that position. You must also accept this and bring it with you when you go." He brought a black box, about five feet long and a few inches wide and thick out from behind his desk. "It will be useful, more than you know."

Hinata gasped. "Is that mothers…?"

"Yes. I modified it to fit you but you will have to find out what I did and what it does on your own. Will you accept these terms?"

She stood there, reconsidering. This was a huge risk if she accepted, because that would meant that she might have to be forced out of her place as the future clan head and would ruin all her plans. She wanted to change the clan from its coldness and possibly even eliminate or create a newer, gentler Caged Bird Seal. Then it wouldn't be a curse and could be activated or deactivated so the holder could pass on the Byakugan if they wanted. That would mean she would prevent future members from having fates like Neji, her cousin. To her, it would be a lot of work but it would be worth it and the effects would last for generations to come. Plus, there was a small, almost non-existent chance that her father would die. 'He had probably thought about that too.' Hinata thought.

"I… I accept, Outou-san."

He nodded, sad but relived she had said yes. 'I really hope I don't die when you're gone. I want to live to see that you have turned into a fine kunochi and lady when you get back.' He came out from behind his desk and took the box and presented it to his daughter. "Now take this and be dismissed."

Hinata grabbed the box from her father, bowed and left in a quiet hurry.

"Hinata, my only fear for you is you discovering your own dark secret while with him." Hiashi muttered as he sat back down in his chair.

* * *

(The Next Day)

"So why aren't you training with your own team Naruto? What happened to Sasuke and Sakura?" Kiba asked while sitting on a log. He had his lunch in front of him and was devouring it hungrily. Shino was sitting on his other side and Hinata was between him and Naruto. The usually loud boy had joined team 8 in their training for the day. All four of them plus Akamaru were sitting down for lunch though he wasn't really hungry at the moment due to mysterious stomach problems.

"Sasuke-teme is still in the hospital and Sakura is next to him as always being at his stupid bedside. I have no idea where Kakashi-sensei is. 'Prolly off in a tree reading Icha Icha Paradise the asshole."

Shino had noticed he left the usual 'chan' off of Sakura's name. "You don't harbor feelings for your teammate anymore?"

The blonde shook his head. "No. how can I put it? I don't know even why I even liked her in the first place. She's just one of those rare _super_ fan-girls of Sasuke's, who also happens to be on my team. I'm just so tired of it, which is why I'm going to be free of the both of them in two days."

"Two days?" asked Kiba. "Where you going, a long mission or something?"

Naruto swallowed his food. "Nope. I'm going on a five year training trip."

"Five years?! Wow, we're going to be…" Kiba counted his fingers. "Eighteen! Eighteen when you get back! We're going to be practically adults!"

The blonde beamed. "Yep! And Hinata-chan is coming with me too, right?"

The girl blushed and nodded meekly. "Hai!"

"WHAT?" Kiba jumped to his feet. "Hinata-chan, you're going too!?"

She turned away from him. "Y-Yes…" Suddenly, she stood up and tightly hugged her best friend. "I-I-I'm sorry Kiba-kun! I r-really am!" she sobbed into his shoulder. "I-I just…well… you know w-why."

He put his arms around her to comfort his friend, knowing exactly what she meant by that. He knew she liked Naruto, and it broke his heart too. "Is this what you asked her yesterday when you came?" he asked the other boy calmly.

"Yeah." Naruto said, downcast. He hadn't known that Hinata and Kiba were such close friends and he felt really bad for taking her away from him. "Hinata-chan," he began solemnly, "If you don't… you know…want to come...I understand… I'll just find another-"

"She'll be fine. She'll go. I don't know about you, Shino, but I'm just in a bit of shock about this." the Izunika said, stroking a still crying Hinata and shook his head. "Five years… wow that going to be a long time."

Naruto looked up and met the other boy's eyes. Something inside him cringed when he saw the sadness that was there, even if the boy didn't show it in his voice.

Hinata, eyes still red from crying, came out the embrace. "Don't w-worry about me N-Naruto-kun; I'm still going to come with you. It's just going to be…hard to leave everyone. And we won't see them at all, I bet." She smiled sadly and dried her eyes. She and Kiba sat back down on the log. "I really am going to miss you guys." She said as she picked up Akamaru, who was sitting at her feet and nuzzled him on his head. "I really will."

* * *

(Early Morning-Two Days Later-aka Friday)

She tamped down the ground where her campfire had been that night one last time and looked around. "Good, it doesn't look like I ever came here.' The woman put the plain white mask over her face and took to the trees just as the sun began to peek through the leaves.

* * *

Only Tsunade, Shizune, Kiba and Akamaru, Shino, Hiashi, Hanabi and Neji had come to see them off. All gathered in front of the southern gate fifteen minutes before the Uzumaki Clan member correspondent was supposed to arrive. The Genin and Hanabi were talking amongst themselves, Naruto mostly, and the adults stood nearby watching. Both of the travelers had large backpacks stuffed with clothes and belongings, but Hinata had a long black box strapped to the side of her pack.

A minute until 9am, the massive doors opened up to reveal a solitary figure walking up the road. Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched the person, studying them almost. As they got closer, details could be made out. They were wearing black shin length pants, a pair of flip-flop like sandals, a forest green top not unlike the white one Tsunade wore and a white mask.

"Kinda looks like the one that girl Haku had when we were in Wave. But, it doesn't have any of the markings…" Naruto mumbled to himself.

After what had seemed to be a split second, the person walked over the village's threshold and approached Naruto. "Where is the Hokage?" a woman's voice asked. He blinked in surprise.

"Oh, uh… She's the blonde person over there." He said and pointed, completely thrown off.

"Thank you." said the person kindly.

'A woman?' thought both Naruto and Hinata as they watched the person walk off. 'I'm going to be trained by a woman?"

"Good morning, Hokage-sama." politely said the Uzumaki as she bowed. "Where are the boy and my d-, his mother?"

Tsunade and the others had a similar reaction to the Genin's. "Excuse me?" she asked, though not unkindly.

"Where are Kushina and this boy Naruto?"

The Hokage opened her mouth to answer but was beaten to it by Hiashi. "I'm sorry, but do you mean Uzumaki Kushina?"

"Yes, her. Where is she?"

"She's…She's dead. She's been dead for twelve years. Why do you ask for her?" he said, clearly confused.

The woman in the mask gasped audibly. "I-…I thought-"

"We thought that since she had passed on, we would offer a replacement girl and one of Naruto's choice since they would train together for five years. Is this okay with you and your clan?" asked Tsunade.

"Yes, I-I think so, I don't know about Myuri but… Twelve years?" Her voice quivered.

"I know you are from Kushina's clan, but how did you know her?" asked Hiashi curiously.

"She… Kushina was my daughter. I was so excited when Myuri ordered me to come here because I thought I would see her again."

"You're her mother?" asked Shizune incredulously.

"Yes."

"That means that Naruto actually has…family. A real living family member. Looks like you took my job from me." joked Tsunade. "Long story. Anyways, Naruto is the blonde boy over there in the orange jumpsuit. Kushina's substitute is the dark haired girl next to him, Hyuuga Hinata."

The woman looked back at the group of kids she had approached earlier, who had long since gone back to their conversation. "Seems like a nice kid."

The Hokage shook her head. "He's a real handful. He keeps on calling me Tsunade-baa-chan even if I'm the Hokage."

"Baa-chan? You don't look a day over 23."

Tsunade chuckled. "I'll take that as a compliment. It's because I use a jutsu to hide my real age. I also have something for you here." She held up a small scroll. "There is a scroll I sealed in here but do not unseal and open it until he learns who his father is or until you deem him mature enough to handle it. That and this information is very confidential and dangerous."

"Why?" the woman asked. "Who is my grandson's father?"

The Hokage leaned in and whispered a name in the other woman's ear. She leaned back and raised her eyebrows expectantly. "You have heard of him, right?"

The other woman's eyes brightened beneath her mask. "Now I see why." She turned her eyes to the small scroll. "What does the sealed scroll contain?"

"It's written by his father himself. I think he left it behind just in case his duty called for his life and so then he couldn't teach his son himself. It has many techniques for the boy learn including the one that made him famous or infamous for that matter."

The woman nodded in understanding and turned her attention to the second person coming with her. "So the girl is… a Hyuuga? Hyuuga Hinata?"

Hiashi answered this time, as this was his eldest they were talking about. "Yes. She's my daughter and also the clan heir. Although, she is not as strong as my clan would like so I was hoping you could strengthen her."

"Oh we will, I can promise you that. But as you may know, we train our students in a different fighting style than that of your clan. She will become strong, though not in the way you might like." She looked at all the adult's faces and saw no more questions written on them. "Right," she started, "can we leave now?"

"I don't see why not." replied Tsunade.

The Uzumaki left the group and walked over to the Genins, interrupting their conversation. "Naruto, Hinata, it's time to go." she told them.

Naruto turned to Kiba gave him a reassuring smile. He punched the boy's fist with his own. "I'll take good care of her. I promise." He walked over to Neji. "Same thing, but just when I get back, I hope you have accepted that fate is never a definite thing, just like I proved to you." The prodigy merely gave him a flat stare, annoyed at the younger boy for being right.

Again.

"Goodbye, N-Neji-san, Hanabi-san." Hinata gave a small bow to each of them, even if she outranked them within the clan. She suddenly stiffened when she felt the overbearing presence of her father behind her. Quickly she turned around and gave him a deep bow and held it. "G-Good-bye O-Outou-s-sama." she stuttered.

"Hinata, look at me."

She straightened up and looked him in the eye. "H-Hai?"

Hiashi merely gave her a small smile, something he had done rarely since his wife had died. "Nothing." He shook his head. "Never mind. Say goodbye to your teammates."

Hinata turned away slowly, unable of what to make of her father's actions. She pulled the rest of team 8 into a one armed hug for each of them. "I'll miss you guys. I promise that I'll get stronger for you guys. I promise." A tear escaped her eye as the realization of what she was about to do began to slowly trickle into her. "I promise."

"Of course you will! You just have to try hard and never give up, just like your nindo!" whispered Kiba into her ear.

"Ready Hinata-chan?" Naruto and the Uzumaki escort stood a few yards away at the very edge of the gates.

"Y-yeah." She said as she broke the hug and wiped her face dry with her sleeve. She turned, ran towards them and began to walk with them, down the road and to her future.

"Hey! Tsunade-baa-chan! When I get back from this, I'm gonna be so awesome that I can even beat you!" the obnoxious boy yelled back.

The Hokage laughed out loud. "Oh I'll always beat you Naruto, no matter how skilled you get! Remember that!"

"Only in your sake enhanced dreams you old bat!" said Naruto before they left making Tsunade let out steam from her ears and fought back several curses since children were present.

* * *

(The Next Morning)

The boy began to stir, surfacing for the last time from his coma. "Sa-Sasuke-kun?" a nearby voice inquired.

"Wha-…What the hell…" he muttered, sitting up and holding his throbbing head. "I remember…" he said looking up and squinting into the bright hospital lights. "Fuck! Itachi!" It had hit him what had happened and he clearly saw his elder brother in his mind, torturing him in that world of black and red, so much like that one he had been in five years ago.

"Now now Sasuke-kun, you're still recovering." That same voice said. It came from his left.

'Sakura…' he recognized.

"Here, I bought you a melon and sliced it and everything for you." She said in that ever cheerful voice. He looked in her direction and saw a red and pink blur. It was a bit before his eyes fully came into focus on her but as soon as they did, he turned them to the fistfuls of sheets he was holding. A spoon with a light green cube entered his vision on his left.

It really pissed him off at how much she was there for him. Always by his side, chatting away, desperately trying to strike up a decent conversation with him. She was nothing but in the way to him, a weak person who should have never become a kunochi. He was always saving her, like on the mission to the Wave Country and in the Forest of Death. And always when he wanted time to think and be alone, she would follow him even when he told her not to.

He really didn't like her at all.

But still, she had saved him from going insane that one time in that same forest, when she had told him to stop. She was crying then. He hated it when people cry. And he saw the fear and desperation in her eyes then, begging him "Sasuke-kun, stop, please. Please come back. What are you doing? You aren't being yourself." And when he had passed out that time before that, she had watched over both him and Naruto while they were both unconscious and did pretty well that time.

But that was only twice. Two times she had succeeded. Two times out of many chances she had.

It still didn't change his view of her.

He knocked the food away, not even looking at Sakura. "I don't want any food." He said coldly.

"Sasuke-kun-" she began.

"Leave me alone." He said and finally looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She opened her mouth to speak but was again silenced. "I said. Leave. Me. Alone." he growled.

"S-"

Sasuke turned all the way towards her, his eyebrows sharply slanted and his eyes turned blood red. "Fuck, Sakura, I said to go away and leave me alone! What do you not get about that?" She tried to interrupt her but he continued. "You aren't helping me at all. Even if you are my teammate, you're just a hindrance to me. Just leave me alone!"

The words stung like a shower of shuriken. She could feel the tears coming. "S-Sasuke-"

"Get out. Now." He ordered.

She saw the anger in his eyes, an anger she hadn't seen since the Forest of Death in the Chuunin exams. And back then, he was ready to kill mercilessly. She felt his eyes watching her, watching to see if she would stay or go.

'This isn't him. This isn't him.' Sakura thought and she closed her eyes tight. 'This is only the cursed seal. This isn't Sasuke.' She felt a hand close around her neck and lift her up out of her chair and into the air.

"What did I tell you?" Sasuke was on the brink of releasing his killer intent upon the girl.

Sakura sputtered and clawed at his arm, unable to breathe. "I…down…Sasuke…kun…" she managed to choke out. He released her and she fell in a heap and laid there for a second.

To say she was utterly terrified of this boy right now would barely scrape the surface of what she was feeling. He was looking down at her hatefully, almost like he was leaving a wounded animal to die alone. A pit of fear formed in Sakura's stomach and it told her to get away, to leave, and to get as far away as possible from this boy.

The hospital room door slammed, waking Sasuke from his trance. He sat back down on the edge of the bed. "What the hell?" he mumbled to himself as he held his head. 'What did I just do?'

* * *

Sakura ran through the streets away from Sasuke and the hospital. She didn't stop until she got to Naruto's apartment and banged her fist on his door. "Naruto," she cried, "please open up! Please please please! There's something wrong with Sasuke He's….He's gone mad! He's insane! Just please, open the door!" She tried to open it but it was locked. "Please Naruto." She sobbed, sinking to her knees and clutching the doorknob. "Please open the door."

The door to the apartment down the hall opened up and an old man appeared behind it. "You lookin fer that annoyin blond kid that lives ther?" he croaked.

Sakura hopefully looked up. "Yes. Where is he?"

"He left fer a long trip. I dunno when he's gonna get back though. Talk to the Hokage about it. She'll know sumthin."

'He left?' Her knees shook as she stood up. "Th-Thank you. I'll g-go talk to her n-now." Sakura ran from rooftop to rooftop, and landed in front of the small gates the led to the Hokage properties. Ignoring the guards that were on either side, she ran between them and didn't stop until she was in front of Tsunade's office door.

"Tsunade-sama!" said Sakura before she opened the door and found the woman lounging behind her desk, idly swirling a cup of sake while hatefully staring down at the bane of all Hokage's before her that laid in front of her...paperwork.

"Hm?" the older woman looked up and promptly hid her alcohol. She tired to make it look as if she was actually doing something.

Which she of course wasn't. Again!

"Oh yes, what can I do for you, young miss?"

"TsunadesamamynameisHarunoSakuraandI'monTeam7.UzumakiNarutoandUchihaSasukeareonmyteam.WhereisNaruto? Ireallyneedtotalktohim.Someonetoldmeheleftforawhileand-"

The Hokage put up a hand to silence the exasperated girl. "Stop. Start from the beginning."

Sakura took a deep breath to calm down. "My name is Haruno Sakura and I'm a Genin. Uzumaki Naruto and I are on team 7 together. I want to talk to him but someone told me he went on a mission or something. Where'd he go and how long is he going to be gone?"

"He didn't tell you?" Tsunade's brow creased in confusion. "He is on a training trip right now. Both him and Hyuuga Hinata."

"But how long is he going to be gone?" she said desperately.

"I thought he told you since you are on his team, but he's going to be gone for five years. Why, did he not tell you?"

Sakura froze and slowly mouthed the words 'five years' in shock and disbelief. "That's…That's what he was asking me…" The Hokage watched as the girl fell to her knees in front of her.

"God damn it!" She slammed her fist onto the cold tile floor.

"That's coming out of your pay," said Tsunade seeing the small crater imprinted on her floor.

* * *

**A/N: Ok this took longer to write because I had to get some parts just right, like the hospital scene and Hinata saying yes and the departure too. Plus I had to come up with good terms for Hinata to accept. **

**I think i make excuses way too much. Do I? Someone say yes. Please.**

**USD**

**Next Chapter: Sakura finds solace with the most unlikely person ever. Nightmares of something dark plauge the Hyuuga heiress, making someone else even more protective of her.**


	11. Solace

**DO NOT WORRY! THIS IS SECRET OF THE WHIRLPOOL COUNTRY BY UZUMAKISAKURADRAGON. THE AUTHOR (ME) HAS TEMPORARILY(?) CHANGED THEIR NAME TO INFESTEDBYPURPLE. DO NOT WORRY.**

**A/N: ****I told myself I would rant, but... unfortnatley(sp?), I can't remember right now. Hmmmmm... what was it... I can't remember. Meh. Oh well. I'll remember later and repost this.**

**Other than that, all I have to say is the week after I posted the last chapter, I couldn't decide whether to start with Sakura or Naruto/Hinata, so that took a full WEEK of writing time out. Meh... I hate myself. /**

**Disclaimer: Naruto no es de mi. Il es de un senor Japanese.**

**READ AND REVIEW PLZ IF YOU DON'T HATE ME!**

* * *

Chapter 11 – Solace

Solace. A safe haven. A retreat. Someone to confide in. A person you can tell your secrets. A person who will save you from your darkest hour. Tonight, he would be her solace.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sakura ran into her house and slammed the door to her room with her face buried in her hands.

"Sakura? Honey? What wrong?" her mother called from the other room. She got up and stood next to her daughter's door with her ear close to it. She could hear muffled sobs coming form the other side. She knocked. "Sakura? Whatever it is, you can-"

"Leave me alone!" she heard from the other side. Actually, Sakura did want to talk but now wasn't the best time and nor was her mother the best person to do that with.

Sakura's mother nodded in understanding, even if she knew her baby girl was hurting badly. Sometimes, teenagers just needed to get these things out of their systems. "If you want to talk, I'll listen." And she stepped away from the door.

Sakura clutched her pillow even tighter and continued to cry, if not harder than before. The boy she "loved" had just almost killed her. He was supposed to be her teammate!

'That certainly was not him.' she had convinced herself. Yet she could not get the image of his red eyes out of her head. Those eyes were so full of hatred and anger. It was haunting.

Then at the time when she needed him most, Naruto wasn't there. He was off on a trip and wouldn't be back for five years. She couldn't wait that long. No one could.

He was off with Hinata too. What had prompted him to take her? Sakura personally saw nothing interesting about the girl besides her lineage and bloodline. She wasn't pretty, loud or anything like herself. She was dark, weird and kept to herself nearly all the time.

This wasn't right. She was left all alone. Sasuke had changed, Naruto was gone and Kakashi-sensei was off doing S-ranked missions because of the shortage of able bodied shinobi, according to Tsunade. She had no one to go to who would understand.

These thoughts ran through her head as her sobs subside. They went down all the way and Sakura had effectively cried herself to sleep.

* * *

"Neh, Uzumaki-saaaaan, when are we going to stop? I'm really hungry."

The sun was lowering in the sky as the odd trio walked down the road. It had been three days since they had left Konoha and three days of Naruto jabbering away about this trip and what he hoped to do, but lots of complaining about why they weren't jumping through the trees to get there sooner. Plus that question he just kept on asking that would hopefully join him with his favorite thing: ramen.

"We'll stop in a few minutes. Just wait." The escort replied. She was a mysterious figure to both of the young ninjas, especially Hinata. She always wore a white mask and never let them see her face. She had a kind voice and gray streaked with a fiery red, like the remnant of a former glory.

A half hour later, they camped in a small clearing a good distance from the road they were traveling on that went south. The escort had started a fire and was currently skinning two rabbits she had found to cook them. There was no tent, just their sleeping bags to lie out under the stars.

Soon, dinner was ready and eaten, Naruto disappointed that he wasn't allowed again to eat some of the ramen he had packed. Later, the guide took watch and the kids climbed into their sleeping bags. Naruto fell asleep immediately but it wouldn't come so easy to Hinata. She tossed and turned, her mind running a mile a minute. At some point though, she fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

"Don't mess up, Hinata. This is a very important meeting and we can't look bad." Her father towered over his six year old daughter. She played with the sleeve of her stiff formal kimono and looked down submissively.

"I w-won't, O-Outou-sama."

Hiashi left and resumed his place at the low table in the formal and elegant room around the corner

The cue came for her to appear. Hinata picked up the tray with shaking hands and slowly walked to the table. Her father stared at her with intense eyes.

Without warning, Hinata did the worst thing imaginable. She tripped over the long hem of her kimono.

The tray, the teapot, the cups and the girl all went flying forward. The scalding tea landed on the guest and Hiashi stood, his eyes literally burning with anger and fury. Hinata took one sorry look at her father and began to pick up the broken pieces of china as the tears began to build up. "I-I'm s-s-so sorr-ry Out-tout-s-sam-ma." Her voice wavered, filled with fear.

Hiashi went over and kicked his daughter so hard she flew backwards into the wall. She fell face first to the floor with her eyes clenched shut tightly in pain. "Worthless." he spat down at her. "You are of no further use to either me or the clan." He strode out of the room without a second thought or look.

Hinata curled into a tight ball, hugging her knees to her chest. The world around her faded into a black abyss. She floats.

"Worthless." That same voice echoed everywhere. "Totally and completely worthless. You are a failure and that is all you will ever be."

"No." Hinata whispered to herself. "I'm not worthless. I'm going to try harder." She propped her head on her knees. "You hear me?" she said with more confidence this time. "I'm going to get stronger."

A maniacal laughter filled he space, echoing off things she couldn't see. "Worthless!" The voice whispered. "Worthless, worthless, worthless…" It faded away.

Hinata looked ahead and saw two bright yellow spots of light getting bigger, almost as if something was coming towards her. She slowly uncurled, stood, and began to run towards them, trying to get out of this accursed place.

"Hey! Over here!" she called in her loudest voice. "Over here!"

The lights didn't get any larger faster like she had expected. Soon they stopped altogether, even if she was still running. A slit appeared in each light and Hinata stopped to gasp. A huge pair of cat-like eyes, filled with malice and rage, stared back at her. The rest of the face faded in from the infinite darkness.

A gargantuan deep purple cat was grinning at her with huge menacing teeth. A low growl came from deep in its throat, and at this point, Hinata was frozen and scared for her life. She tried to turn to run away form the thing, but her feet wouldn't let her. A glint came into its eyes. It opened its huge mouth just as she finally managed to turn, and released a deafening roar. She was startled enough and she accidentally did again what made this dream a nightmare.

She tripped.

* * *

She slowly opened her tearstained eyes and looked out eh window. 'Stars?' Sakura thought. She sat up and wearily rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms. "How long have I been out?" she groaned. She looked to clock next to her bed. 10:49.

Sakura stood and looked outside again, but looked more closely this time now that her mind had cleared a bit. Although, something was out of place.

A person was sitting on one of the rooftops and looking at the moon.

As far as she could tell from where she was, they had a large, irregular object strapped to their back. Her curiosity got the better of her and she opened the window to jump out. The front door really wasn't an option, as her mother would be wondering where she was going and if she wanted to talk again.

Sakura stood on the windowsill and jumped to the rooftop across the street. She continued to slowly approach the person and the details slowly came into focus. Red hair. Black shirt and pants. Dark rings around his turquoise eyes. The Suna forhead protector. And the telltale kanji for 'love' tattooed on his forhead.

Gaara. Gaara of the Sand.

'What's he doing here?' Sakura hid behind a corner and peered around as soon as she got within 20 feet of the boy.

He felt someone's presence to his left. "I know you're hiding there. You can come out now." He hadn't moved a muscle.

She stepped out into the moonlight, uneasy about him. Last time they met, he had almost killed her. But that time, Gaara had been taken over by his bijuu, the one-tailed Shukaku. Now, he seemed calm and pensive and it definitely didn't seem like he would attack her anytime soon.

Sakura walked up the side of the roof and sat down next to him a few feet away on the beam, just to make sure. "Why are you up so late?" she asked.

Gaara paused and remembered her from a little over a month ago. "I should be asking you that."

She blinked. What did that mean? "Huh?"

"I have insomnia. I can never sleep."

"Why…Why not?"

"My bijuu. If I sleep, he is released, and will take revenge on this world until I wake up. You saw part of him in the forest."

Her eyes fell. "Oh." The silence drew out as Sakura couldn't think of anything else to say. He didn't seem like one for conversation.

"Why are you even speaking to me? I nearly killed you." Gaara said after a few minutes. He glanced sideways at her.

She didn't answer immediately. "You look under control now."

"I could lose it any second, you know. You're still not afraid?" He turned all the way to face her in astonishment.

"A kunochi risks her life every day for her village." Sakura said matter-of-factly. "How is this any different?"

He fell into silence and looked down with no answer to her question. This girl was unusual. No one ever talked to him out of their own free will outside his family and teachers. He turned back to looking at the moon and rested his head on his hands, puzzled, but a bit of gratitude came up from somewhere inside him to her.

"I'm-… just really curious but, when… when you aren't yourself, like you're insane, like how you were in the forest, what are you thinking? What… does losing your mind, so to speak, feel like?" The girl didn't take her eyes off the roof tiles.

Gaara again remained silent for a moment. "Why do you ask?"

This time, Sakura was the one who turned to face the other, tears welling up as she remembered the days past events. "My teammate, Uchiha Sasuke, is that way right now I think. You fought him in the forest too. He… He definitely wasn't himself today. He woke up from his coma in the hospital, lifted me up by the neck, told me to get out or he'd kill me." She shivered at the memory and a tear escaped by the corner of her eye. "But the thing is, I like him a lot and I want him to be well and sane." She looked up to the moon. "I don't know what to do, Gaara. I really don't. That's why."

Amidst all the bad feelings that he had for the world, Gaara couldn't help but feel sorry for this girl. She was hurting in a way he couldn't comprehend because it was love. And that was something he never truly had experienced. If he was going to make something out of his existence like that hyper Uzumaki boy, he would start now, he decided. He would start here with this girl.

* * *

Her eyes snapped open. She brought a shaky hand up to her forhead and felt that it had a thin layer of sweat. Hinata closed her eyes and took a deep shuddering breath but the tears betrayed her as she tried to keep control of herself. A low sob escaped her followed by others when the words came back that the father in her dream had said.

"Hinata-chan?" a groggy voice to her left asked. "Hey, what's wrong? What happened?" Naruto had woken from her cries.

"I h-had a nightm-mare." She tried to put a smile in her voice. "That's all."

"No its not." he stated. He sat up and moved to sit next to her on the grass. "A nightmare would just scare a person and not to the point that it would make them cry. This must have been really bad. Come on tell me."

She sat up too but kept her head down while he looked at her with an understanding expression. "It…It started w-with a memory I have of when I was s-six."

Naruto nodded. "Go on."

She told him the first part of her dream up until the part when it had turned for the worst. He in turn proved to be a good listener, as he had gone through some similar experiences. When she began to shiver and cry again, he moved to be next to her and put an arm around her shoulder. She was so wrapped up in her story that she didn't notice.

"He kicked me into the wall, called me worthless and said the clan didn't need me anymore. Then everything faded to black." She shuddered again "his voice echoed and said I was worthless over and over and then… and th-then th-there w-was that cat, that huge beast cat. It almost looked like...l-like…" she trailed off again and buried her face in his shoulder.

He brought his other arm around and hugged her, determined to stop her crying. Naruto had promised himself a while ago that he would only never cry again when he was happy. He never wanted other people to cry if he could help it. "Like what?" he whispered. "A monster?"

She could barely get the word past her lips. "A d-d-dem-mon-n."

The word struck hard and he stiffened even if the dream had nothing to do with him. "Shh, Hinata-chan, it was only a dream." He placed his chin on her head and rocked her back and forth until her cries ceased and she fell asleep. As he released his jacket from her stiff grip to wrap her back up in her sleeping bag, he made a decision.

If he was going to become Hokage, he might as well change the people of the village by being whatever they needed. And he would start here by being there for this girl. Being her solace tonight.

* * *

Finally, a day and a half later of walking, they came to a road that branched off from the main road. It was overgrown with weeds and strewn with rocks that threatened to twist your ankle if stepped on the wrong way. They followed the guide on it, winding through he trees until it ended at the ruins of a grand old house surrounded by a crumbling or non-existent plain white wall. She stopped walking and they did too.

"This is it?" Naruto's voice was full of disappointment. "This is where I'm going to become a master swordsman?"

The woman turned to him. "What, did you expect more?"

"Well yeah, I thought maybe a big house up in the mountains with a great view and stuff." He shrugged. "Not this, definitely not."

The woman smiled beneath her mask. "Don't let your eyes deceive you." She bent down and picked up something invisible. By the way she held it, it looked like a drop cloth. She gestured for them to walk under.

"I don't see anything." Naruto said, inferring the gesture the wrong way.

The Uzumaki sighed. "Walk under it."

"Under what?"

"This."

"That?"

"Yes."

"There's nothing there."

"Do it."

"Why?"

"You'll see why when you walk under."

"….I still don't see anything."

"Please Naruto-kun, j-just do as she says."

He took a deep breath and took a step forward. "Okay, but I still don't se anything." He ducked under the woman's arm and looked up. What he saw now was not at all what he had seen second ago.

First and foremost, the wall that blocked the rest of the complex was restored. Not new, but not old either. It was grand and neat, an obvious sign of wealth and hard work to keep it so.

"What did I tell you?" the Uzumaki said as she came under the invisible curtain after Hinata. She passed them and stopped at the small gate. "Come on, stop gawking. We haven't got all day." She pushed it open since there was no lock. Why would one anyways, if their home made it to look like something it wasn't?

They went through the gate into a brilliantly green garden with a very old sakura tree to their left and a large pond ten feet away from it, also on their left. On the right, there was a plain lawn lined with bushes of every shade of green around the edge and a stream that glimmered in the sunlight. Down the middle was a cobblestone path that they were walking on. On the other side was an enormous but still simple mansion. It had a wrap-around porch with sliding doors and a brown roof. It didn't go higher than two stories but it made up for that by sprawling in every direction and almost touching the walls on either side.

"So what do you think of it now?" asked the guide.

He didn't have an answer for her.

Inside was also simple and appealing. Hinata was comparing this house to the Hyuuga mansion back home. Many things were the same like the orderliness and cleanliness but this place seemed more open, more inviting, more… free. Perhaps she would like it here.

"This way." They followed the older woman down a corridor that branched off left from the large reception room after taking off their shoes at the door. The sunlight could be seen casting silhouettes on the traditional rice paper doors. About two thirds of the way down, she stopped at a sliding door on the right that looked like all the others in the hall.

"Take off your packs and be respectful." She ordered. The kids did as they were told and she spoke to the door. "Myuri-sama, I have returned. May we come in?"

A loud crash and a string of muttered curse came form the other side. It was a minute before they got a "yes" in response.

A raised platform big enough for two people to kneel on was on the other side of the door. The man that kneeled in the center of it was the oldest man that either of the young ninja had ever seen. He had absolutely no hair on his head, save for his bushy gray eyebrows and short beard that followed his jaw line. He wore a dark blue top that folded twice across his chest like most clan heads. His hands rested on his matching dark blue pants, covered in two lifetime's worth of wrinkles that also covered his face and every piece of visible skin. But the thing that was the most remarkable feature of this man was the fierce, wizened green eyes beneath the sagging brow.

Hinata immediately had a deep respect for this man. He had at least a hundred years behind him. Both she and Naruto kneeled on the two cushions in front of him and the guide stood in the corner behind them.

Uzumaki Myuri looked down on his students-to-be, studying them, but something was obviously nagging him. "Where is Kushina?" his voice was, like him, old and careful.

"Should I or should you?" the woman asked Naruto.

"I'll do it." He took a deep breath. "She's dead." He said. "My mom died when I was nine months old." Naruto looked down in memory.

"And how old are you now?"

"Thirteen."

Myuri nodded slowly. He turned to the girl who hadn't spoken yet. "And you are?"

"H-Hyuuga Hinata." She stuttered.

"Izumi, I assume Tsunade had a substitute for Kushina?"

"Yes. She let Naruto pick her himself."

He closed his eyes and fell silent. When he reopened them, he looked at Hinata and frowned. "This presents a problem. Please take them to their rooms."

The woman named Izumi bowed. "Yes, Myuri-sama." All three of them left the small room, picked up their packs and went down the hallway, back into the main room and down the right corridor.

"I'm sorry Hinata." She apologized when they were going through the reception room. "Myuri-sama is very logical and always thinks things through before he makes a decision. Being from another clan, one noble but powerful at that, complicates things a bit because back in the days when I was much younger like yourselves, we rarely let outsiders learn Kenbu-Do. We refused two and they nearly destroyed us. You, boy," Izumi looked at Naruto, "are the last one of this clan who has any hope of having children. The survival of this entire clan depends on you." She stopped walking.

"Choose any of these five rooms here. The ones on the right have a nice view of the garden and the ones on the left look out over the training grounds."

Hinata, much to Naruto's silent protest about the nightmare, chose the room farthest from his so as to reduce embarrassments that might happen between them. As soon as she went in though, she dropped her pack and curled up on the floor, since this room had a futon bed instead of a regular one.

She cried. Cried because she messed up for being here, for delaying the start, for the fear of being rejected and sent back to Konoha.

'Why do I always hold people back? Why do I always hold him back?'

* * *

Izumi went to Myuri's study where she knew he would be. "Uncle, please." She begged.

He sat at his desk with his head in his hands. "I know, but I don't know what she'll do once she learns. When she leaves, she might accidentally run into them and they'll force her to teach them. The teachings that have been passed down for hundreds of years will get out and be used for treachery."

"Yes I know but over the past five days of traveling with them, I learned that she really likes this boy from the looks she gives him but he's completely oblivious. He handpicked her. Therefore, he knows her well."

"That doesn't prove she won't betray us."

Izumi sighed. "I know. Btu she is shy and one of the nicest kids you'll ever meet. Plus, she is their heir to her clan and as respectful as you can get."

He kneaded his forehead with hi hands. "That makes it even worse, that she's the heir. I know that they Hyuugas have a unique fighting style which she probably has learned by now and this will mess up her clan's teachings. She will have to pass down her techniques to her children when she becomes head and this will mess those up badly. She might even teach them our style and then when that happens, we're done for."

"Just please, let her Myuri. I know she won't. Let us teach her." She begged.

"The only way I can see that our techniques won't get out if we teach her is if she marries Kushina's son. What was his name again?"

"Naruto."

"And you said Hinata likes him? A lot?"

He sighed. "I can only hope he develops and returns those feelings. Then they will stay in the family.

"But then again, she's the heir to another clan, a powerful one at that…" Myuri trailed off. "Goddamnit. This is so hard."

"Please." Izumi begged again. "Just please."

He shook his head. "I don't know I don't have an answer now. Let me sleep on it."

* * *

Naruto had his few things unpacked and was currently lying on his unrolled futon, resting from the eventful day. He was turning over the words exchanged in the meeting.

He didn't like the way that Myuri guy looked at Hinata. It was one he knew well because the villagers often gave it to him when he walked down the streets in Konohagakure. And he had also said she was a problem. 'Maybe she wasn't pretty enough or something.' He thought.

"Hey boy, it's not that." A familiar voice growled in his mind.

'Who asked for what you think?' Naruto said to the fox.

"I'm saying that men think more logically than if someone is pretty enough or not. That's one skill you need to learn, kit. How to think. And you need it badly." said the Kyuubi sarcastically.

Naruto rolled over onto his side. 'Then what? Why else would he say Hinata-chan is a problem?'

"Your mother was an Uzumaki. You, by blood, are an Uzumaki. That girl you brought is a Hyuuga. That's probably why. I really have got to teach you how to think otherwise you won't survive and neither will I…."

Naruto just tuned out the rest of Kyuubi's babbling and turned his attention to his empty stomach. 'Man I'm really hungry... where's the kitchen around here?' He stood up and exited the room. His bedroom was the farthest down the hall before it turned left and so he had to pass Hinata's room to get back to the main one where he could start his search. When he passed hers though, heard hard someone unsuccessfully trying to keep their sobs low. She was crying again, he realized.

Naruto completely forget about his food and went into her room. Hinata was curled up on the floor, crying. Her pack with the long black box attached to it was lying near the door on its side, apparently thrown down and forgotten.

"Hey, hey, Hinata-chan, what wrong? Was it that guy and him saying you're a problem?" he kneeled beside her and put a hand on her shoulder to let her know he was there.

She shook her head as if trying to clear her thoughts. "I don't want to be a burden. I don't want to hold him back, I don't want to be a burden. Not a burden, not a burden…." She was repeating to herself, unknowing to the boy on her left.

"Hinata…" Naruto whispered, realizing she had a pain like his. She clearly needed someone to talk to. She clearly needed her solace to tell her everything was going to be alright.

* * *

**A/N: You don't know how loooong I've waited to write the nightmare and its aftermath. Pay attention to those too. There are more to come and they have a HUGE meaning/impact later in the story other than developing those two.**

**YAY! Kyuubi-kun is no longer silent!**


	12. A Test

**A/N: I finally got this up after much procrastination. :P**

**Ok, I have a 10 things to say before you read the chapter.**

**1) Super Smash Bros. Brawl rocks.**

**2) I am obsessed with Guitar Hero 3.**

**3) I will cover the whole 5 years of Naruto and Hinata's training. Why? Because I have some stuff planned for those years.(Mwahahaha!) Two of them won't even be spent within the walls of the Uzumaki.**

**4) Right after I post this, I am going to my Devianart page and posting some concept art for this story so be sure to check that out.**

**5) It is hot as hell out.**

**6) Finals start tomorrow. Finally, school is almost over.**

**7) Sasuke needs to die. Now. (Only applies to those who have read the manga up to the current chapter)**

**8) I can't wait for this Saturday.**

**9) I don't own Naruto. Just my plot and OCs.**

**10) Read and review please!**

* * *

**Chapter 12 – A Test**

_Zzzrrmmmm_

The astral projections of eight men and a woman faded onto the fingertips of the giant statue.

The one with the grey ringed eyes spoke with a voice of authority. "Everyone, report on their bijuu."

"The one-tail is currently in Konoha." said a man with a long ponytail. "I plan to capture him as soon as he is in between there and Sunagakure."

The leader nodded approvingly. "Itachi."

"I have lost track of the jinjuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. He left Konoha with a woman and a girl one week ago. The woman wore a mask to conceal her face so I could not identify her, nor were there any symbols on her clothing. All three of them have mysteriously disappeared."

"What direction were they heading in when you last saw them?"

"South, towards the Tokugawa Peninsula."

"Start looking there. Kisame, report."

"The four tails is still in earth country living in solitude, Pain-sama. I can go and retrieve him on your order when needed."

Pain nodded. "Good. What of you, Hidan?"

"I told you before motherfucker, I have no shitting idea where that fuckbag of two-tails has gone. It's still missing for ten and a half goddamn years. I can't fucking find any fucking tabs on where it might be. Heh, it might be fucking destroyed for all we know." He obviously had just enough respect for his leader not to beat him into submission.

"Do not say that, Hidan. It is out there and we will find it and use it to control its lesser demons. Look harder. Where it was last reported to be seen?

"Lightning country."

"Then start there."

"Don't you think I've already combed that fucking godforsaken place for any lead?" He threw his hands up. "I couldn't find a damn thing except for what I've already told you."

Pain's eyes hardened as did his tone. "Try harder. We must not fail."

* * *

Hinata woke to find her room dark and herself on the hard wood floor. She grasped what had happened this afternoon – or yesterday, she couldn't tell – as she stood up. She went over to her first floor window that looked over the garden. The front of the huge Uzumaki mansion faced south and there was a light blue glow on the horizon to the east.

"It must be near dawn." she murmured to herself. Hinata stretched and yawned. She remembered getting here in the middle of the afternoon, then having a five minute meeting with Myuri-san and then – she didn't want to remember the rest. Hinata fished her pajamas out of her pack, changed and set up her futon bed in order to get some proper sleep.

She lay on her side and tried not to think about anything. This side wasn't working, so she flipped to her other side. The same was with that side so she lay down on her back.

Sighing in defeat, Hinata put the bed away and settled with leaning on the windowsill and watching the sunrise.

The sun transformed the sky from a pale blue-green to a light peach and back to blue in a very slow but beautiful process. She had moved to sit on the windowsill to get a better view of it and that was how Izumi found her.

She knocked on the door lightly. "Hinata-san, it's time to wake up."

"Y-you can come in. I'm already a-awake."

The door slid open and the old woman stepped in. She had an outfit almost identical to the one Myuri had worn yesterday, except it was the same forest green as her traveling clothes. She also was not wearing her mask anymore. Hinata looked at her and saw the face for the first time. Izumi's face was the face of the woman in her fifties, even though she was over sixty. There were deep-set lines around her mouth and between her brows and crows feet about her eyes, as if she smiled a lot. She was right about the hair that now hung down; it was mostly grey.

"I wanted to – talk to you about the training." Izumi said. "You obviously saw that Myuri wasn't sure if we should train you. Well, he and I talked about it and thought about it. He told me why you shouldn't learn and such, but he also told me one way you could learn that solved all those problems.

"You see, I think you might've known this but we refused two people who came here, seeking for power for who knows what. They killed everyone except the elders, Naruto's mother and I. I was fighting to defend this place, –" her hand made a wide sweeping motion, "my home. We were all fighting as hard as we could, but I soon saw that it was useless after I saw everyone around me being killed like dogs, including my husband. I put a simple concealment jutsu about myself, masked my chakra and waited out the rest of the fight.

"The elders, including Uesugi-san, Meng-san and Myuri-sama all hid in an underground chamber. In the end, this house was almost completely destroyed though we barely survived. That man and his woman partner left, thinking that they had destroyed us all and I suppose that they are still out there somewhere, especially with that kind of power.

"Hinata, that's why Myuri is very uneasy about training you in the Kenbu-Do. He doesn't doubt your ability, I'm sure of that. He just doesn't want these skills to fall into _their_ hands and force you to teach them. He's afraid they'll be used for destruction. He doesn't want you hurt. He doesn't know you, but he cares.

"Then there's the issue of your clan's fighting style, the Jyuuken, which your father has probably taught you. Am I correct?"

"H-Hai."

"He is also afraid that you will teach your children Kenbu-Do instead of your clan's style. He wants preservation of both styles, mainly his own." She had given the dilemma but not a solution, which Hinata kept a question for.

"I-Izumi-san, you said that there w-was a w-way that this could all work out. What w-was it?"

She gave the girl a wary look. "Do you really want to hear what it is? You may not like it." she hesitantly said.

"Hai."

Izumi sighed and closed her eyes. "The only way either of us can see that it will work out is if you become an Uzumaki. Not now, but in the future."

Hinata's normally straight eyebrows furrowed a bit in confusion. "Like a conversion?"

The woman shook her head. "No. I meant marriage."

The girl gasped and she froze. "Y-You m-mean-n…. N-Naruto…?"

"Of course him. We don't embrace the old customs where a woman marries a man who could be her grandfather. That's just not right."

Her dream had just been presented to her on a silver platter. She could become his wife. They could raise a family. They would live and grow old together. She could be _his_. It looked like a win-win situation.

Izumi studied the girls face. "So are you going to accept this condition and become part of the family in the future?"

Hinata said 'yes' and didn't think twice about it, about what Naruto wanted or about the consequences that she faced when she returned home five years from now.

* * *

"You're staying Hinata-chan? Awesome!" She was immediately pulled into a bone-crushing hug.

Izumi couldn't help but smile for more reasons than one. First of all, this boy had the ability to make people smile by them watching them. Second, he had no idea that the girl he was now holding would be his wife someday, whether he liked it or not. Last – the training could now begin.

"Alright you two, enough cuddling" – Hinata blushed – "for now. Both of you get ready as if you were about to go on a dangerous mission, then come out back to the training ground. We'll be waiting." She went down the hall and followed it left, disappearing out of sight.

Naruto pushed the girl out the doorway of his room. "Alright! Come on, go change! We don't have any more time to waste!"

Hinata sighed at his enthusiasm. Sure she loved and appreciated it, but sometimes he had a bit too much.

Five minutes later, they were out on the grounds. Behind them was a dojo, separate from the mansion and in the middle of the large but shallow U-shape that the two wings of the house made. Far to their right was a bathhouse with separate baths for men and women. The two remaining sides was the large white wall lined with trees and bushes, respectively.

The boy stood in the center and was bouncing on the balls of his feet, ready to go. Hinata stood next to him, looking at the ground and patiently waiting for whatever was coming.

Across from them stood four adults in a line, two men and two women. There was Izumi and Myuri and the two others were the two youngest elders at the time of Pain's attack.

Each of them had a sword that ranged from a katana to an enormous one that stood as tall as the user. Izumi had a long black katana tied to the dark red sash she wore around her waist. The sheath widened about three quarters of the way down from the point, making it and odd shape for a one. The other woman had a similar sash and wore a gray gi. Her Nodachi was at least three inches wide and much longer than Izumi's. The unnamed man also wore a gray gi and a dark red sash and his sword was completely straight. From the hilt, it looked like a Jian sword about three and a quarter feet long, minus the handle.

Myuri's sword though, was the most impressive of all. This one could not fit in a sheath, even if someone tried to design one specially made for it. It was huge, even for a Tsurugi, which is the style of sword it was. Just the blade being about six feet long plus another foot and a half for the hilt and handle made it comparable to Zabuza's. The blade curved one way then the other and lastly went straight all the way to the tip.

"Naruto-san, Hinata-san, this is Uzumaki Uesugi" Myuri gestured to the man, "and Uzumaki Meng." He motioned to the other woman. "Both of them being Uzumakis, they will also be your senseis when you are being trained and you will address any of the four of us as such when training." He looked at Naruto. "Not baa-chan or baa-san. Outside of training time, you may call them that."

Izumi spoke next. "Now we have called you here with your shinobi gear because we would like to test you both to the extent of your current skills and level. Show us everything you have been taught or the skills you have acquired during missions. Naruto, you will face Myuri and Hinata, you will face me. Hinata, you and I are first."

"Go Hinata-chan! Get her like you did Neji!" Naruto cheered.

There was a bench near the edge of the wall under some trees and the two non-fighting Uzumakis went to go sit on it and watch the battle unfold. Naruto followed suit and sat, still bouncing, impatiently waiting for the outcome of this fight and for his.

Myuri stayed in the center with the two females and assigned them each a starting place that faced the other. He could tell by the look in both of their eyes that they were both ready to fight. He raised his hand so it pointed straight out in front and away from him. "Hanjuumin!" He dropped his arm and stamped his foot and backed away to the spectator's area.

Hinata went through a few hand seals. "Byakugan!"

What she saw wit her eyes was certainly confusing and something she had never seen before. In the middle of Izumi's sword in its sheath was a swirling mass of blue chakra. Although smaller, it had the same chakra signature as Izumi.

'So I guess that's what we're going to learn or something like that.' Hinata took a deep breath and was off like a shot. She threw a right punch to the woman's stomach to which Izumi merely rolled away to dodge. She went Izumi's legs next and tried to sweep them but that move too, was evaded. Roundhouse to the head, sidekick to the stomach, duck under and punch; those and others were all blocked or evaded and Izumi didn't use her sword in any of them, like she was saving it for later.

As Naruto watched, he was completely absorbed by the speed at which his family member moved. Izumi was so fast that it looked like each of Hinata's attacks was being waited for by her arm, hand or whatever body part she used to block. He was also surprised by the ferocity with which Hinata attacked. She looked as if she was trying to prove something to them.

In the meantime, Izumi was constantly evaluating the girl. 'She has good speed for her age and excellent form. She's going to easily get the Kenbu-Do down.'

Hinata retreated from her onslaught because she knew she couldn't land a hit with just the normal taijutsu taught by the academy. She brought chakra to her hands and more to her eyes to sustain her bloodline. She quickly settled into her Jyuuken stance and took an audible deep breath. The next one she took was in the heat of the battle.

Izumi noticed that her arms were beginning to slowly weaken, especially with the areas that she was blocking with though she wouldn't show it. 'This must be the Jyuuken.' She contemplated. 'It's stronger than I thought.'

As she finished that thought, Hinata decided to 'go in for the kill.' She made one more hand sign. A green glowing Ying and Yang symbol surrounded by two circles of glowing kanji appeared beneath her feet. She shifted her stance backwards and cried out "Jyuuken: Hakke Rokujuuyonshou!"

_Bam._ 'Two strikes! Four strikes! Eight!' _Bam bam_. 'Sixteen!' _Bam bam bam!_ 'Thirty-two!' _Bam!_ 'Sixty-four!'

But Izumi was still moving. 'That technique is supposed to make them immobile! How can she still move?' Hinata wondered. Then she took another look at the sword which was now drawn and Izumi held it out in front of her. It looked like a regular katana, up until the last three-quarter feet near the hilt. There it became a toothed with formidable spikes designed for cutting and ripping. It looked truly frightening indeed.

She tore her eyes away from the sword in order to focus back on the fight. Flowing through the handle from the central core of chakra to her hand and into her chakra system was the revitalizing chakra. It forced her keirakukei and tenketsu open, keeping them stable and keeping the flow of chakra going throughout her body.

Hinata was unsure of what to do next. Regular taijutsu was child's play and the Jyuuken was null and void with that sword….

That was it. She figured it out. She needed to separate Izumi and her sword and move in before she could recover.

This time, Hinata attacked with her regular taijutsu but with the goal of separating them in mind. This time, Izumi did use her sword, but only when evading or blocking more advanced techniques. Not once did she attack.

Finally, after about another five minutes of intense fighting, Hinata caught he blade with her left hand, though it cut her palm a bit. Ignoring this, she roundhouse kicked the hilt of the semi-toothed katana, effectively knocking it out of Izumi's grip and sending it flying. It landed twenty feet away on the ground.

Every single one of the older Uzumakis was impressed. This girl had discovered the clan's main reason for being so powerful and eliminated it in the heat of battle. Very few people ever figured out why.

"Whoa! Go Hinata!" Naruto cheered. "You almost got her!"

Now Izumi got the slightest bit serious. Hinata was coming at her with the 64 Palms again and another few strikes would render her completely immobile. She made a wide arc in the dirt with her foot to kick up a cloud of dust. She entered it at exactly the same moment Hinata did.

When it cleared, Izumi had Hinata's arm twisted up behind her back and the girl was in a sort of mid-step towards the place where her target was a second ago. Izumi threw a simple look to Myuri that neither of the teens knew what it meant.

Myuri evidently understood and stepped forward. "Yaame! Hinata-san, you have demonstrated your abilities. Now rest." He gestured to the bench. Hinata breathing hard, sat down in between Naruto and Meng, the former of whom gave a hug.

"You did awesome Hinata-chan! That was even cooler than your fight with Neji!" he said.

She blushed and smiled. "Th-thank you N-Naruto-kun"

"Naruto-san," said Izumi, "its time for your test. Please stand opposite Myuri-sama."

He walked over to an off-center spot of the dirt grounds and turned. He scrunched his face at Myuri, scrutinizing his opponent.

"But you're so OLD!"

Typical, blunt Naruto.

"You must be over 150! You're even older than Ero-Jiraya! I'm probably going to hurt you!" he continued.

Myuri sighed. 'This kid has a lot to learn.' "Have you ever heard the expression 'Don't judge a book by its cover'?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Same applies here. I'm much more fit than I seem."

Naruto shrugged. "Oh well. Your funeral."

Izumi assumed the same position Myuri had used when he initiated her fight. "Enough talking. Ready?" She looked at both males and they each gave a nod. She dropped her arm and stomped her foot. "Hanjuumin!" She backed up to the bench to watch the battle like a good spectator.

'I'm going to go easy on this guy. I don't wanna hurt him.' Naruto decided. He dropped into a stance a wrestler might assume, but Myuri didn't move and inch.

He drew a few shuriken from their holster and threw them at his opponent expertly. Myuri sidestepped them easily but didn't do anything else.

'Why doesn't he move? He hasn't made any against me!' The enemies Naruto expected to meet on future missions would always come at him, and then he'd kill or capture them as necessary. Why wasn't this one doing that now?

Naruto drew a kunai and rushed at Myuri. He faked left and did a right roundhouse to the man's chest. Myuri simply brought his right forearm up in front of him to block. When he felt his foot connect with the arm, it felt as if he had just kicked a concrete pole. He had expected to be blocked, but not one this strong from such an old man. Saving his surprise for later, he spun around in midair and brought his left leg down in an axe kick. Myuri brought his iron arm up above his head before Naruto's leg even started to come down. When it hit, he grabbed the boy's leg with his left and flung him high in the air to give Naruto enough time to land on his feet.

Meanwhile, Myuri was assessing his new student. 'Power, strength and speed, all nicely balanced….Very well for his age."

Naruto instinctively righted himself in the air. He flung the kunai he held at the man and made that hand seal he was oh-so-familiar in using. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

'And he can apparently use high ranking techniques that use a lot of chakra. Very good.'

Close to a hundred clones formed in midair and landed lightly on their feet, covering the training ground in a sea of orange and blue. Myuri, surrounded, didn't move a muscle. All the clones simultaneously charged at him, a fierce cry escaping them.

He finally moved. In one fluid motion, he raised his giant sword, turned, and brought it down in a wide arc to effectively destroy the first few clones. He wove in and out, up and between the small army as if dancing and his sword his partner.

Naruto stayed on the edge of the pack. 'Damn, he's good for an old guy! I can't get a scratch on him!' He told five clones to go in for another one of his favorite moves.

Myuri was enjoying this. Though he was about half done in eradicating the clones, he had gotten his first workout from someone outside in many years. What he did not see though, was four clones slide though the legs of the others and the next thing he knew, he heard "U! Zu! Ma! Ki!" and was flying upwards. A human shape was coming down on him.

"Naruto Rendan!"

Quickly, he brought his sword up to block the kick that would have landed square on his chest. Again, he grabbed the clone's leg and flung him into the center of the mob of his brethren with a grunt. Eight poofs resounded and eight puffs of smoke appeared. Myuri landed in the middle of it and again took up his graceful serenade.

Naruto had less than ten clones left. This wasn't going well for him. He had one last weapon in his arsenal and it was his most favorite by far. He created one last shadow clone and had it gather chakra in his right palm while he sustained it.

The strangest sound came from left and behind him. It was like something large had just been sent into another dimension. A poof sounded and Myuri heard running footsteps coming towards him as he turned in recognition and amazement. 'It can't be…'

"Rasengan!"

He saw Naruto in midair, flying towards him. In Naruto's right palm, thrust in front of his body, sat a swirling orb of blue chakra. It would have hit him square in the chest if he hadn't turned to let it pass by him at the last second. Naruto crashed into the ground, leaving a four foot crater where the Rasengan was and promptly got back up on his feet.

'Damn it! He's faster than Sasuke, hell, Kakashi-sensei!' Naruto launched a fresh wave of attacks at the ancient man with all his might, angry and aggravated that he couldn't even land a hit. With each punch and kick that failed to connect with its target, the frustration built and unconsciously wormed its way to the Kyuubi locked inside him.

Slowly, the fox's chakra began to seep through him and he began to change. His canine teeth elongated and became sharp, the whisker marks on his cheeks widened, his nails became claws and his eyes changed from a human deep blue to a feral blood red.

Myuri noticed that the look in the eyes of his opponent had changed. They were no longer determined and optimistic. They were now determined and deadly. He also noticed that Naruto's taijutsu became more animalistic, with more power and less skill. He jumped back as far as he could when red chakra began to surround Naruto's body and undertake the rough shapes of long ears and a column formed at the boy's rear, taking on the form of a tail. The boy crouched down where he was in preparation to leap at his foe.

"Naruto-san! Stop!" Izumi ran in between him and Myuri with an arm out to both of them to emphasize her point. "You have proven yourself enough! Please stop whatever you are doing before you hurt someone!"

Only those last three words got through to him. The slitted, ruby eyes turned to the woman and then to Hinata. Izumi's eyes were filled with worry but it was the girl that really scared him. Just then, he came to him senses and realized what he was doing. He was exposing his darkest secret to her. That was the last thing he wanted to do for fear of scaring and alienating her enough to go home, back to Konoha.

Hinata's eyes were wide with confusion and fear as is asking and unspeakable question. Her hands were clenched and shaking on her lap, as was her entire body. As soon as he had looked at her, she looked down, unable to meet his frightening gaze.

Immediately, the red chakra around Naruto was either re-absorbed into his body or dissipated into the air. He hunched over, breathing hard. 'Aw shit, now she's going to hate me. Shit shit shit shit shit shit! How could I be so stupid?'

The whole place was silent, save for his labored breathing.

"What…was that?" Meng spoke for the first time. Her voice was soft but it carried far, since Naruto could hear it from as far away as he was.

"My father's bloodline." Naruto lied with the first thing that came to mind. "Obviously, I didn't get it from my mom."

"Would you please explain it to us?" asked Myuri.

Naruto's eyes flickered to Hinata. "Not now. It'll take a while to explain 'cause it's really complicated."

Even if she was silent, Hinata's mind was working a mile a minute, trying to process all this information. 'Since when did Naruto have a bloodline? And why hasn't he told anybody about it up until now?'

She was shaken out of her thoughts when Meng touched her shoulder and got up. "Come. It is time to rest and eat." She followed her to the mansion towards a door on the left, but she saw Naruto being led across the grounds to the other side by Myuri.

* * *

He closed the thick door behind him and pointed to a chair next to a large oval table. "Sit." Naruto did as he was told. Myuri sat in the chair next to him. "Please explain this bloodline of yours. I will not tell the girl if you wish, though I think she should know."

"Thanks and please don't." Naruto sighed. He hung his head in his hands. "My god, I'm so stupid…I shouldn't have lost control, I shouldn't…" He brought his head down to look at the floor by Myuri's feet and took another deep breath. "Ok, I'll tell you the truth since you're going to train me and you're my family somehow. I don't have a bloodline."

Myuri was surprised, though he did not show it. "So you lied?"

The boy looked back down, ashamed. "Yes."

"Why?"

Naruto paused. "….I did for her."

"The girl, Hinata-san, was it?"

"Yeah. Back home in Konoha, all the adults knew but all the kids around my age and younger don't. She's a few months younger than me so she wasn't around when it happened."

"When what happened? Your power or whatever you call it?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, it's more like my personal curse."

He received a curious look.

"Ok, The...the uh…The…" Damn this was hard. "The Kyuubi no Ktisune is… sealed in me. You saw his chakra before when I fought you." He hung his head and waited for the words of hatred, disgust and rejection.

But none came. Myuri sat there with an odd look in his eyes, as if recalling and old memory. "Can you please describe how you got the fox and how you two interact?"

Naruto was confused. Here was the first person he had ever told of his secret and they were… interested in it?

"Um sure, I guess. I dunno the specifics, but the Yondaime Hokage sealed him in me when he attacked Konoha on a wild rampage. He and I can have conversations in my head because he is also a part of me, like a second soul. I can use his chakra, giving me nearly unlimited supply and it's like a backup plan or my last resort. When I get really angry, like I did that one time in Wave country, the chakra flows freely and I sort of transform. I get vampire fangs and my nails sharpen into claws. I feel more like a predator but I still have some sanity. I don't know much else about this because I just found out myself about this a few months ago."

Myuri still sat there with the same expression for a minute…

Three minutes…

Five…

Ten…

Finally, after a while he opened his mouth to speak. "This is very good….Better than I expected, in fact."

* * *

**A/N: O.o What does he mean by that? I do, you don't. :P Haha. I laugh at you.**

**Next chapter: Thus the training begins! What will the Uzumaki do about the Kyuubi? How will they react to Naruto using the Rasengan? What is going on in Hinata's head now that she knows a partial truth about the boy she adores? And what is going on in Konoha these days?**

**Lolz, the heat is making me hyper.**

**IBP**


	13. Happenings

**EDIT: Um, I just put tags at the beginning of each page preak thing so you know who's POV you're reading.**

**A/N: This chapter, as you might notice, is a bit different than the last chapters 'cause it was written in first person. I didn't include tags that look (like this) that said who's point of view it was from at the beginning of each break. If you are confused on who is speaking, then here's a guide on who it is in case you do:**

**1. Hinata**

**2. Izumi**

**3. Hinata**

**4. Naruto**

**5. Hinata**

**6. Naruto**

**7. Gaara**

**8. Sasuke**

**Um, a part of this chapter is a somewhat parody, scratch that it is, I admit it is, of the famous Naruto Anime episode 148. I reaaaally wanted to write it and put it in but I knew I shouldn't, but my NaruHina shipping fangirl side got the best of me... -slaps her- Meh, anyways, that's NOTHING compared to what will happen later in the story when they're 18 and very, should we say, INTO eachother. (Kukukuku...)**

**I have babbled enough... time for the story!**

**Cookies to those who read and fireworks for 4th of July to those who review!**

* * *

**Chapter 13- Happenings**

**(Hyuuga Hinata)**

And yet, here I was again, sitting leftof him at dinner. He had lost some of his usual cheerfulness after our tests this morning, mainly right when lunch had started. We didn't do much else today in terms of training. Izumi had given us a brief tour of the house, showing us where things like the library, kitchen and dojo were.

That last one had been simple but impressive like the rest of the Uzumaki mansion. It was separate from the main building, between the East wing of the house which had the kitchen and the western wing that had the family library which doubled as a family history and records room.

The dojo was long and rectangular, about three times wide as long. The wall was a plain white, same as the white on the property wall and the ceiling was very high, between fifteen or twenty feet I estimated. The floor was of a dark wood that was smoothed and polished to near perfection. There were two entrances, one in the middle of each of the longer sides and two large scrolls hanging in the middle of the shorter walls. One had a large spiral painted in red ink with an insanely large brush and the other scroll was just as large but had a list of rules on it. I didn't get a chance to read them.

The same woman that explored the house with us was kneeling across from me at the low table, next to Meng and Uesugi. I figured that the latter two were married by the way they were always together and that they slept in the same room (I only saw one futon bed in their room during the tour). Myuri sat at the head of the table, the same place my father sat at back home.

The silence between the six of us was strained, especially between Naruto-kun and I. I was still scared a bit because of his display of his bloodline, which he neglected to explain to me. It bothered me a bit that he didn't tell me, but I figured I would give him his space until he was ready to tell me. Still, I wondered….

"Neh, Izumi." Naruto-kun said between bites, kicking me out of my thoughts. It sounded like he was trying to break this awkwardness.

"Yes?' She looked up from her plate of broiled fish we were eating.

"How are you related to me?"

She gave him an odd, lopsided smile. "Why, I'm your grandmother."

"EH?! Really?!" He planted his palms on the table and leaned forward, eyes wide. "You're my Baa-chan? You're mom's mom?"

"Yes."

He pumped his fist. "Sweet!" He turned to Meng who was next to Izumi. "What about you? Are you my aunt or something?"

She chewed her food thoughtfully and swallowed. "I…don't think I am in your immediate family. I am Izumi's oldest cousin."

Naruto-kun switched his gaze to Uesugi expectantly.

"Mother's Father's Uncle's brother." he muttered. His voice was deep like the kind you would find on the movies.

I made the confusing connection quickly but I could tell Naruto-kun didn't get it. "Hmm." He breathed. He looked lastly at Myuri. "You?"

"I am your grandmother's uncle." He replied simply. "My older brother was Meng's father and my sister was Izumi's mother."

Naruto-kun grinned that blinding grin of his. "This is so cool! I never knew I had all this family!"

No duh. The whole world thought that they were supposedly dead for over forty years.

"Oi, Naruto." Uesugi called.

"Mm?"

"Just because we're family doesn't mean we will take it easy on you tomorrow when we start the training." He gave Naruto-kun a mischievous look that said he meant it.

* * *

**(Uzumaki Izumi)**

Myuri had called a council with the three of us on some important matter. I wondered if it was about my grandson's bloodline.

I was the last to arrive, as I had been looking for the scroll the Godaime Hokage had given me. This scroll and its contents would have to be integrated into the training curriculum somehow over the next five years.

As soon as I sat down, Myuri began. "Now that the children have been tested, I would like for us to share our evaluations and thoughts of them. First, about Naruto.

"I would like to say that the only thing that the boy is missing is knowledge. He has plenty of skill, strength and learning potential. What about Hinata, Izumi?"

I quickly assembled my thoughts on the girl. "She is evidently very capable, if not better. With the Jyuuken that she used, that evidently takes a lot of chakra and chakra control which is needed for our style. She also thinks things out because she took away my sword and you all know how important our swords are to us and the Kenbu-Do."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"The only thing I think she lacks is strength. She has everything else."

They nodded again.

"Izumi, I agree with your evaluation. For now, let's put our observations aside and focus on helping them obtain enough strength, balance and discipline before we even put a wooden practice sword in either of their hands.

"Uesugi, in the morning, you and I will coach them in strength training in any way you see fit. Izumi and Meng, after lunch, do balance training with them. Though, tomorrow, Uesugi, in the morning, give them a little demonstration to show them what they will achieve. They will need it.

Now that that is out of the way, there is something else that I would like to speak to you three about. You all saw Naruto's display of skills this afternoon. Now, that bloodline he showed us, I would like you to hear what he had to say about it when I spoke to him in private. First off, he said it wasn't a bloodline."

"What?" Uesugi exclaimed. "What did he mean, not a bloodline? How else can you explain such a phenomenon?"

Myuri raised his hand. "Peace. There is a way. It is because he is a demon vessel, the container of the nine-tailed demon-fox lord, Kyuubi no Kitsune. He has the ability to access its chakra and that is what we saw before."

Wow. These two kids were full of surprises. Hinata was the heir to one of the most powerful clans I the shinobi world. Naruto was the son of the Fourth Hokage but he also had the greatest demon sealed inside him.

"It is evidently hard for him to control the fox." Myuri continued. "Therefore, I propose to send the boy to _him_ to help learn the control and the proper way to use the demon's power. I was thinking two years of training there after he has been trained for two years here and then one more here then they return to Konoha."

Wait a second. "Hold on. We proposed five years to Konoha because that was the shortest amount of time we could get all the training in. Are we now going to cut out some of the teachings?" I queried.

Myuri shifted his eyes to my face. "We promised to have them back by the time that they were both eighteen. Remember, our clan is not one to break promises."

"I still don't see how three years will be enough."

"We will make it fit somehow. If we don't, we will send them back as-is and ask them to return. On second thought, we'll make it mandatory to come back since he is the clan heir and she is engaged to him."

I decided not to challenge his answer, as it seemed good enough. Then I brought up the subject of contacting him to see if he would even train Naruto.

"How will we even contact him? _He_ lives in solitude up in the Ieyasu Mountains and I don't think any of the village's messenger hawks know his exact location."

Myuri raised his eyebrows and gave me an are-you-kidding-me? Look! "Of course you are going to go."

Stupid question. Of course me. It was always me. I was always doing the errands that required someone to go outside the Oni chakra cloak.

"You will stay with him until you get a response from him. Understood?"

I sighed. "Hai, Myuri-sama." My voice was the slightest bit mocking.

"Well then, meeting adjourn-"

"Wait." I said.

He raised his eyebrows once more. "Yes?" His tone was expectant.

"There is another matter with Naruto-chan."

Amusement flashed across Meng's face when I gave Naruto the title.

"What?" I shot at her.

She just shook her head while trying to suppress a grin.

"Anyways, the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade-sama, gave me some information about my grandson before we left, as well as this." I set the small green scroll on the table.

"Go on." My uncle said.

"My daughter got quite a catch in terms of a husband. Naruto-chan's father was the Yondaime Hokage."

"A Hokage, really?" Meng commented.

"Yes. The Fourth Hokage of Konoha. He developed the Hiarishin no Jutsu and because of it got the nickname 'Konoha's Yellow Flash.' Tsunade gave me this scroll which has the scroll that teaches that Hiarishin among other useful jutsu sealed inside it. I would have requested that when he is older and more mature that we give him his fathers scroll and he learn what he can from it, but with this new possible three year limit, I'm not so sure anymore. Here, take it, as you are in charge of the training schedule." I slid the small scroll across the table to Myuri.

He didn't touch it, just stared at it with an expression he used many times when he was thinking. "Thank you." he finally said and stowed it in a hidden pocket of his gi. "I will take this into consideration and determine the best course of action. Is there anything else you would like to share?"

"No."

He nodded. "Meeting adjourned then."

* * *

**(Hyuuga Hinata)**

I looked down at my hands, then up and around to where I was. I was standing in the same black abyss as the first night. I was the same age as I was now, thirteen, in my Genin clothes with my beige sweater and ninja tools. I began to walk cautiously in no particular direction. I walked and walked like this for what seemed like hours, not passing not seeing anything.

There it was.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something.

There it was again!

I turned to look.

It was reddish-orange.

It had four legs.

It was coming at me.

I ran as fast as I could, pumping chakra into every step. It was no use. When I looked a second time, it was catching up to me easily with graceful strides. Still, I didn't give up. I would never give up.

I kept on running, constantly looking over my shoulder to keep checking on it.

Suddenly, it was joined by a second four-legged creature.

This one was dark purple.

Shit.

But still, I wouldn't give up.

I turned and threw a kunai at each of the beasts. They easily dodged by running apart and then back into formation once the weapons passed. The glimpse that I got then of them was the clearest of the whole dream.

The reddish-orange thing was Naruto. Naruto, looking exactly as he did this afternoon. Naruto, with the same claws, fangs and widened whisker marks and eerie covering of red chakra shaped like a fox. His face was contorted into a feral snarl, so unlike the carefree smile I was used to seeing there. But he part that scared me most was the blood-red eyes, those orbs that conveyed one thing: destroy.

He truly had one nightmarish bloodline.

The purple animal was the cat. The same exact cat that was in my dreams less than a week ago except this one was smaller, around the size of the boy it ran next to. It had the same swirling purple markings around it face and along its body. It was just as fearsome as Naruto.

They were a double threat. A double terror.

They were neck and neck, still gaining on me with incredible speed.

A growl came from behind me. I didn't get a chance to see who it came from, because as I turned, the bloodline Naruto turned into a demon-fox, an orange Kitsune. Both of the animals launched themselves at me with deafening roars and flashed sets of bleached white razor-sharp fangs. I saw two sets of slitted eyes locked with mine; one crimson and one dull gold.

It was at this point that I woke up.

I wasn't one to wake screaming like they did in corny stories. I had learned not to scream and that screaming only got you in trouble. I just woke up sweaty and shaking. Nothing more.

I needed to take a walk and calm down, I told myself. Then I can go back to bed.

I got up and walked down the hall and slid the door to Naruto-kun's room open a crack so I could peek through. He had his goofy nightcap on and was sprawled on his futon like he was in his sleeping bag on the way here. I gave him a small smile, shook my head and closed the door.

I remembered that there was a pond out front. It looked calming and peaceful enough, so I decided to go there to calm and cool down.

I sat beneath the ancient Sakura tree on the edge of the pond and let the tips of my toes brush the top of the water. The thin layer of algae and the few lily pads shuddered when I disturbed the pond's surface. A few fish greeted me with wide eyes as they swan up to see this new arrival.

I began to turn over an idea in my mind. I had been toying with it while recovering from my exam match with cousin Neji. Maybe now I could try it out while no one was looking.

For the past few weeks before I agreed to go on this insane trip, I had been training with all my heart in attempt to prove to my father and clan that I actually had worth. Along that way, I had found something.

It was me, or to be more specific, in my style. It was the Jyuuken, tailored more to me with my natural flexibility and precise chakra control. It fit within the borders of the clan but it was still a huge deviation from the regular style, which was all about strikes and somewhat blocky.

Now would be a great time to try out my theory. The pond here was perfect since it was night and no one was up. Besides, if I fell the water would break my fall and I wouldn't wake up with any mysterious cuts, scrapes or bruises. What would be a greater distraction from my second troubling nightmare than testing myself?

Quickly and blushing, I took off my pajama pants and button down top and stepped out onto the water. The cold hit me like a wave and my body was instantly covered in goose bumps. I blushed even deeper at the thought of someone blond and blue-eyed – _don't even finish that thought._ I made a hand seal and muttered "Byakugan." I swept my hand low, almost skimming the water before bringing it back up and spinning around.

I continued this dance-like experiment, enjoying the feeling of freedom and the sensation of the cold water and cool air on my skin. This was it, this fit like the missing puzzle piece. I moved across the water in what I imagined was a graceful manner, letting myself get lost in all of this.

Ah! If only Naruto-kun could see me now!

Little did I know, he did.

* * *

**(Uzumaki Naruto)**

"Screw you, baka." I muttered. I sat up on my messy bed, yawned and stretched. Kyuubi was messing with my dreams again, and he was letting his perverted side get to him.

All this was making me hungry for my dear true lover, ramen. By the way, I remembered I still had some in my backpack…

Perfect! It was night; nobody was up so I could use the kitchen and make some! I quickly rummaged through my pack where I kept the holy stuff and dashed down the hall and into the kitchen. There was already a kettle on the wood stove so I simply filled that up with water from the sink, lit the stove, put the kettle on it and waited.

I paced, impatient for the water to boil, around the big wood table in the center. Why was it taking so long? Didn't it know I wanted to eat now?

I finally settled with staring dejectedly out the window towards the roughly U-shaped pond to the south. I was looking for what, three seconds? - When suddenly I noticed something amazing.

A fairy or pixie – well, something like that – flitted across the water. Though, it didn't have wings like fairytale creatures would, so what was it? It was really graceful, the way it danced with sweeping arms that splashed water into the air –

Whatever. All this thinking made my brain hurt and me even more hungry. But still, it was so surreal looking, the way that the moonlight hit the girl – I could tell it was a girl because she had boobs. And she was so _pretty_. Scratch that, she was _beautiful_. Not even the girls of my wild imagination OR my Sexy no Jutsu could compare. And that was saying something. It was a bit of a letdown though, because I couldn't see her face and see who she was.

What was the oddest thing is that there was something familiar about her…

Just then, the teakettle decided to interrupt my ogling by beginning to whistle loudly.

* * *

**(Hyuuga Hinata)**

_WheeeeiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIII!!_

I froze and covered up my chest.

It came from the kitchen behind me.

Ohmygod. Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod OHMYGOD KAMI.

Someone was awake.

What if they had seen me? Ohmygod times infinity. That would be SO embarrassing!! A million other similar thoughts ran through my head, some gibberish, some on who it could be and some on why.

Ok, first of all, get OFF the water, BEHIND the tree and GET YOUR CLOTHES ON!!

….At least part of my mind retained sanity.

I quickly did what it ordered me and then peeped around the tree on both sides to see if anyone was there. Phew. Nobody. I made a mad dash for the house, almost dived into my room and promptly made it look like I was in deep sleep, like I was supposed to be. Well, at least my little exercise calmed me down from my nightmare.

* * *

**(Uzumaki Naruto)**

I tore my eyes away from the dancing girl and snatched the stupid kettle off the stove, cursing at it for both interrupting my gawking and for burning my hands on it. I looked out the window but the girl was gone…

Where did the angel go?

* * *

**(Sabaku Gaara)**

Today I would be leaving Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Today, I would be leaving after staying about two months, for the Chuunin Exam, for our village's misguided attack on this place and for helping it rebuild some.

Today, I would be leaving that odd girl. Sakura, I think she was called.

She was…different. Different than almost everyone I had met during my sleepless lifetime. Different in a sense that she wasn't afraid of me and that she talked to me out of her own free will. I didn't know what to make of her.

Was her existence to confuse me? Or to show me something? I really couldn't tell.

We had had a conversation at nighttime a week ago on a rooftop. She had asked me what it was like to be insane. That had confused me. Why would anyone want to know? It still does now.

That was my first interaction with this enigma in human form. The second was two days ago.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A store bell tinkled loudly and a door slammed on my left as I passed. Footsteps came up next to me.

"Hey." I glanced sideways and it was that girl, Sakura from a few nights ago. I turned my head and nodded at her in reply then returned looking and walking forward.

"Where are you going?" she asked innocently.

"**I thirst for blood. Kill her, she's weak. It should be no trouble at all,"** said Shukaku whispering in my head like the demon he was.

I clenched my jaw. 'No.' I growled back in my mind. "Nowhere in particular." I replied to the girl curtly.

She just nodded and kept walking with me.

My Bijuu was taken aback.** "What? Since when do you refuse me?!"** he whispered

'Since now.' I thought firmly.

**"Why?"**

'I thought we had this conversation before. I told you, I have changed myself and thus my existence. I will not kill by any order except my own or my villages. I will protect my people, both the ones precious to me like my sister Temari and those of our village, Suna. I have changed, Shukaku. There is no changing me back to the way I once was where I was your slave.'

"**But I still don't understand…"** he grumbled but he left me alone after that.

Sakura and I continued walking for some time. I was apparently in the lead for she followed me wherever I went. I stole an occasional glance at her. Confusion welled up in me, as well as the questions I had no answers to but I dared not voice them to her.

I had had enough of this. Not in a bad way, just I felt so uneasy around her. For some reason I just wanted to grab her by her shirt and scream at her "Why aren't you afraid of me?! Don't you see the monster that I am?! Why do you not avoid me like everyone else?! How?! How can you stand me?! You have seen what I can do with your own eyes! I have even hurt you! Why do you not run away screaming?!"

But I would not. I felt uneasy because I wanted to yell at her but if I did, I would have scared her away. And if I did that, then I would lose this new feeling of satisfaction that I was getting from her. This feeling that I was wanted by someone. It was a drug and I couldn't stop myself from taking it, wanting it.

It was like her acceptance of me as a person and not some fearful monster was heroin. Yes, she was my heroin. My brand of heroin.

I had to get away. I had to get away from her before I couldn't get enough and couldn't leave her. I had to.

Luckily, my feet had led me to the street that had my hotel on it. Okay, I would pretend that I had to meet my team in the hotel lobby and escape Sakura like that. Okay Gaara, focus. Fifty feet. Forty. Twenty-five. Ten…five…two…

"Excuse me, Sakura-san, I have to meet my team here at my hotel's lobby. Good-bye." I gave her a slight, polite bow.

"Okay." A corner of her mouth curved upwards into a smile. "See you later then." I could feel her gentle – where had that word come from? – Green eyes on me as I disappeared inside.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

That was a strange encounter with her, most certainly. What did she want just by walking up to me, literally saying five words and then walking with me in silence for the next hour and a half? I don't think I would ever know.

I would never know, as I was leaving Konoha today to return to Suna. I might see her once or twice more during my lifetime and she would probably forget who I was.

"Hey Gaara, time to go." My older brother Kankuro leaned on the doorframe to our hotel room.

Instead of giving a cold look like I would before the Chuunin Exams, I got up from the bed obediently and followed him out the door. I paused before closing the door, looking around the room, taking it all in – the furniture arrangement, the watercolor prints on the walls, the window and the scene outside, all in for a reason I did not know.

Out, running between the trees with everyone, I realized why. I was saying goodbye to this place that had changed me so much, in more ways than one.

Night came, and we stopped to make camp for the night. I naturally was chosen as guard because of my insomnia. But who was watching the watcher? It was because of this that I got into quite a situation.

It had started at about eleven, when everyone was in deep sleep except for me. I was sitting in a tree, keeping my eyes, ears and all other senses barely alert because no one ever really attacked camps unless we had something of value which we did not or it was war and nobody currently was in one now.

A large shadow passed overhead, temporarily blocking out the moonlight. I looked up, figuring it was just a bird that was flying high. It was a bird but…well… It was too BIG to be a bird. In fact, it was HUGE.

It flew overhead again and I got a better look at it this time. It was somewhat blocky, almost square and white – completely white, from beak to tail feathers. And smooth too. Not a feather on it. It looked to be made of clay.

Clay… that meant chakra was involved and that meant a shinobi was involved. An enemy shinobi. I went completely alert instantly and stood on the tree branch I was sitting on. This was nothing I couldn't deal with by myself. I leaped up to the top of the tree to see my opponent. The large owl, as it turned out to be, was flying in circles over our camp.

I saw a man standing on the back of the owl. He wore a black cloak with red clouds and a high collar that covered anything else he wore. He had long blond hair, most tied into a ponytail and the rest hanging out over his left eye. I could not make out anything else, as he was too far away.

Then he came down on the great bird, sweeping over the treetops where I was, and creating such a gust of wind that it almost knocked me over. I sent some of my sand up to crush the wing of his owl, but he evaded by flying left and higher. My sand followed, and I sent a second, thinner amount in the shadow of the first.

Then there was a sudden explosion at the head of the first column and the man slowed down, not seeing the second one flying towards him from behind. It was a split second of blindness, as he sped up again, flying everywhere to avoid the second wave he didn't see before. I managed to get the tail of the bird and I hardened my sand so it was like rock. Both of my opponents jerked to a sudden stop and the man almost came off of his steed.

_BANG_

Another, larger explosion rocked the hard sand near the place where it was latched on after the man had made a sweeping motion with his hand at it, like he was spreading ashes. My sand broke off before I could do the Desert Sand Coffin. I could feel my brow crease in frustration and I sent many columns of my chakra sand to come in from all directions but again, he flew out of the way before they could converge on him. He made the sweeping motion with his hand again and a thousand little bombs exploded behind him in the midst of my sand. They dissipated, but they returned to me.

This enemy had taken advantage of every disadvantage I had. He was in the air, where it was easiest to evade my primary weapon, my control of sand that I received form having a desert demon in me. He had the necessary speed too that was critical for evading successfully. And he had bombs that could break my grip on him, just when I thought I had him. He was definitely my toughest opponent yet.

"Gaaraaaa!!" The yell came from below, one that I had heard quite a few times during my childhood. It was my brother Kankuro and he had woken the entire force of Sand Nins with his scream.

My opponent's single visible brow slanted sharply down and without any sign or motion, his great clay steed wheeled away and into the night sky.

My brother jumped up onto the top of the tree next to me. "What the hell were you thinking Gaara?! Why didn't you wake us up?! We could have helped!"

I turned to him, very, very annoyed. "I was doing quite well myself. I did not need any of your help." I said coldly.

He flinched, mostly from the look I gave him. He turned away and jumped from branch the branch, back down to the ground and the rest of our small force. "The attacker is gone." I heard him tell them. "It doesn't look like he will be coming back either. We can all go back to sleep now."

I, still annoyed at my brother, decided to resume my watching post on the tree branch.

The rest of the night passed without another incident, as did the rest of the trip back to Sunagakure. Though, that man would surely be back. I was certain.

* * *

**(Uzumaki Naruto)**

"Go awaaaayy." I mumbled into my pillow. Someone was shaking me to wake me up and if they didn't stop now, they would pay dearly for it later. I was so insanely tired after last night where I saw the angel dancing on the water. I had spent the next hour after finishing my ramen looking for her but I didn't find a single thing. At that point, I had begun to wonder if it had all been a dream, but my burnt hands were solid proof that it wasn't.

I blindly waved the person away, wanting to be left alone to sleep.

"Come, Naruto-san, its time to wake up. Today you're going to start being trained. I think you would like that." A male voice said.

"I would like to SLEEP, thankyouverymuch." I snapped back and covered my head with my pillow. Something tore it from my hands. "Hey, give it back!"

"Only if you get out of bed." They sneered.

I clutched my old stuffed fox to my face. They snatched that away too. I was instantly on my feet. "Hey what gives?!" I yelled, squinting into the sudden light.

"Finally, you're up." The voice snorted. "Come have breakfast." I followed whoever it was, Uesugi probably, blindly and groggily to the dining room where I chowed down on whatever they put in front of me. As you can see, I'm clearly not a morning person.

"Naruto, Hinata." Myuri – I could tell because of his commanding voice – got both of our attentions. I wasn't even aware that Hinata was there next to me until he mentioned her. Why was she always so quiet? It's like she's invisible!

"When you return to your rooms, put on the blue gi's you see there. They look exactly like mine. When you're both done with that, come out back to the training grounds." He continued.

Five slowly walking, dragging feet minutes later, I opened the sliding door to my room. There, neatly folded on my messy bed, was what that old man had promised. I threw off my pajamas and pulled on the pants. They seemed to be made of some sort of thick, heavy-duty fabric. Great, I was wearing this heavy thing in this hot weather? I shrugged on the top, pausing to remember how to wear this thing. Right, there were ties to hold the folded cloth across my body. I fumbled with the knots for a bit and smoothed out my new outfit with my hands when I was finished. Then I finally took a good look at what I was wearing.

The main color was a slightly grayish light blue. The collar, sleeve and pant cuffs were a darker blue, as well as this random line that went down the middle of the folded pieces. On the front folded panel on the lower left hand corner, there was a spiral embroidered in white.

I grabbed my ninja sandals and headed to the training grounds, pausing only to put them on when I got out of the mansion. Hinata was there as well as the other two Uzumaki men. The two stood there with their swords at their sides and there was an ENORMOUS boulder that definitely was not there before.

"Now that Naruto-san is here we can begin your training. First I would like to say a few rules. One: What you are wearing now is your training uniform. It is your duty to keep it clean, not to lose it and wear it every waking moment that we are training you. You only get one. Two: We are your teachers so you refer to us as sensei, Shihan or Shisou as needed. Thirdly and lastly: There is a reason why we have you do the most insignificant thing because the little things will add up in time and contribute to you becoming better, so don't complain. Now, for the time being, I am turning you over to Uesugi because he would like to show you something." Myuri stood aside after his speech and gestured to the other man who was now net to the big rock.

Uesugi grinned and assumed a stance with his left leg bent in front of him and his right straight out behind him. His face instantly became serious and concentrated. He held his sword above his head and brought it down quickly so that the edge near the tip of the blade sunk into the rock only a half inch.

At first, nothing happened. Then a sound like a beast crunching down on bare bones came from the rock and a crack appeared in the center, splitting it neatly in two. The two halves fell over, landing a mere foot from both mine and Hinata's feet.

All I could say was DAMN. That was so cool! How'd he do that?! If I but enough power and chakra into a kick, I might be able to go through a decent sized long, but a rock and a huge one at that? It would take me years.

Uesugi got up form his stance and grinned devilishly. "And you can do THAT when you're a master of the Kenbu-Do."

Myuri stepped forward and made three hand seals so fast that I didn't catch any of them and muttered something. Suddenly, the clothes I wore seemed to be five times as heavy as they used to be.

"Hey!" I protested, "What did you just do? Why does this thing I'm wearing weigh a ton now?"

"I just activated the gravity seal that was on it, that's all. It increases the pull of gravity on the clothes, making them heavier. It is so your body can get stronger without having to use bulky weights. It's very convenient, actually. The seal is the spiral on your gi tops and don't even try to take them off. I just increased the amount of gravity my ten, so the clothes are ten times as heavy then they normally would be." Myuri explained. "Now both of you, give me one hundred normal pushups, fifty one armed pushups on both arms. Of you're going to wield a sword, you'll need the arm strength."

I groaned. I had a feeling Hinata and I were in for it now.

* * *

**(Uchiha Sasuke)**

I placed the framed photo of Team 7 facedown on my dresser. Tonight, I would be leaving the place. I would finally get out of this place that held no power for me. Tonight, I would start my search for Orochimaru.

First, I would find a way to unseal that curse seal that Orochimaru had given. I needed that power and I fully intended to use it and I wanted more. I had no leads, but I would find him somehow, no matter the cost.

Suring the last two weeks after waking up from my coma given to me by my atrocious brother and being discharged from the hospital the day after, I had come to the former conclusion. It had come to me when I was practicing my taijutsu on one of the training grounds. This is all Konoha would offer me, these basic ninja skills. Chidori was the only thing of value that I had learned and even that turned out to be a failure. If I wanted something much higher, something that would barely scratch the surface of Itachi's level, I needed to go and find it myself. It definitely would not just come to me like an obedient dog.

The most important question after that was to where or who would I go to acquire this power? Suna? No, too friendly with Konoha. Iwa? I doubted they would welcome a Leaf Nin, even if they are a missing Nin. Was there any person or place that could give me the power I so desperately desired?

I was undressing in the bathroom to take a shower after that fateful training session when it hit me. I was taking off my shirt in front of the mirror when I saw the three comma marks on my left shoulder in the mirror. It made me remember during the Chuunin exam when I felt the power – the sweet, sweet sensation of raw power coursing through my body. I remembered the man who had given me that mark: Orochimaru. I needed to find him. He could give me more power. He could give me more of what I wanted. What I needed.

I took one last look around my room; I would never walk in here ever again. Ever.

I walked down the stone path towards the village gates. Nobody passed me on my way. That was good. Nobody would know I was gone until it was too late to track me down.

As I walked over the village's threshold, I left behind the Hokage Monument, the Ninja Academy, the Uchiha compound and name – everything I knew – and walked into the cool night air, the unknown, without looking back.

* * *

**A/N: Ooooh, the plot is getting deep.**

**Ok this is now the record holding chapter for longest I've ever written.**

**I have one MAJOR MAJOR question for you all that you MUST awnser: Did you like this first-person thing? Like where I get in their heads and tell the story from their point of view? Was it more interesting when you heard what the characters had to say? **

**Actually, I turned the chapter into an exercise by making it first person...-sweatdrops-**

**Hey, I just realized, Izumi has the same first name as Sano Izumi, the high jumper, from the manga HanaKimi. Lol.**

**Who else here reads the manga Vampire Knight? Just curious.**

**Next Chapter: Now the training is officially underway! Izumi is set to visit someone deemed nearly unreachable, Sasuke left Konoha intending to find Orochimaru without any leads and Gaara came a hair's breadth away from being captured by Akatsuki. What happens a few months later? How will our hero and heroine hold up to this harsh training?**

**IBP**


	14. An Old Friend

**A/N: For the past two weeks, I had no internet acess, so I couldn't get this up. Blame it on my parents. They drag me to places like Maine for crazy family reunions and the Cayman Islands to go scuba diving. At least I have a nice tan now :)**

**And also blame it on Stephanie Meyer. She forced me to stay holed up in my room for days reading Breaking Dawn over and over. Not that I minded that, particularly.**

**Um, this is another important chapter, as it introduces a new character and a whole new realm in the story.**

**Plus its back to third person, so you won't get confused by POVs or anything like that.**

**And yes, Ghostie is a good girl. :) Or guy? I don't know. I just hope I got it right :P**

**Music 1s my s0ul, I wish I could take and munch on all the cookies (yum!), but unfortuneatly, I'm trying to lose some weight... **

**So you all know the drill; read, review and enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 14 – An Old Friend**

Naruto flopped, exhausted, onto his bedroom floor, too tired and sore to take out his bed. He rolled onto his back and sighed. Today had been another grueling, long day.

Both he and Hinata had been here a month and a half and each day was the same thing. They would wake up at six in the morning, get changed into their uniforms, eat breakfast and wash all the dishes involved in cooking and serving, then go outside and do a physical training regimen the even Lee and Gai would turn pale at. This would continue until one in the after afternoon for a half hour lunch break, in which they would also wash the dishes. From then until sundown, they would do exercises that pushed their ninja level balance to the extreme to perfect it to an excruciating degree. Dinner was the same as all the other meals, eating then cleaning up afterwards. After that, then they could do whatever they wanted, including sleep.

Unfortunately for Naruto, he was training twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. When he was sleeping, that meant Kyuubi asked him logical questions in his dreams and if he got them wrong, the fox tricked him into waking up and losing sleep. If he got it right, then he would let his jailer stay asleep and would move onto the next question. Most of the time, Naruto go them wrong so he wasn't getting much sleep OR sleeping well.

What frustrated him the most was not Kyuubi waking him up, it was _Myuri_. Day in and day out, the man pushed him to and past his limits of both strength and patience, thought latter was nearly non-existant to begin with.

Even ever enduring Hinata looked to be wearing a bit. Over the last two weeks, Naruto had approached Myuri twice after dinner to ask him when they were moving on from strength-endurance training and balance training to where they actually learned how to use the sword. True, all three of those things had improved exponentially since that first week, but his body and mind was nearly at it breaking point and a person can only take so much.

The old man's response both times was to shake his head and say, "Your patience will be rewarded in due time."

Naruto rolled onto his side and groaned. This had all seemed like his big break, his ticket into becoming the best shinobi the world had ever known, even surpassing the great Yondaime Hokage. And yet, here he was, hid body's breaking strain nearly reached, his mind overworked and his hope and enthusiasm gone.

Over in her room, Hinata had taken the time to change into some clothes she had brought with her. The familiar weight of her training uniform made her regular clothes feel as light as a feather, a nice relief from the day.

She had gotten stronger over the past month and a half, though only physically. All the baby fat was gone from her face and most of her body fat was gone too, making her leaner, slimmer. She had also noticed her future partner had grown taller a bit, though he had muscled up even more than that since he was skinny to begin with.

Her patience had been tried every day since she had come but it was starting to slowly weaken. Before long, she too would approach Myuri and ask him. She was having doubts already if this was some sort of torture or if this was the Kenbu-Do, just strength and balance and swinging a blade around wildly.

And since that night that she had danced on the water, she had had exactly one other of those cat-monster nightmares. For fear of someone seeing her again, she didn't go out and try her Jyuuken again on the water.

Hinata, being the unfortunate bookworm kunochi she was, took the time to read almost every night before going to sleep since the time she was nine. This was actually how she hadn't become an idiot like Naruto, how she coped with her harsh father, how she learned to think, how she became perceptive, how her mind gained incredible depth. She had brought along three of her favorite books as well as a new one that the bookstore clerk had recommended she read. It was pretty lengthy and she was now only a quarter of the way through it, starting it the same day she and Naruto started training. Though it cut into her sleeping time from the day's strenuous routine, she like to have a bit of time to herself and forget the world around her, to come out of her sore body and dive into someone else's world.

She indulged that now and left the world for a time.

* * *

Izumi rose early in the morning to pack. She didn't mind having the duty of the outside world, of keeping up with the news and gossip and buying food for the now six people in the secret family, but it got annoying sometimes. This trip was a little different though than the many she had taken weekly out of the hidden security of the Oni chakra cloak. During those last few trips she had bought more food than necessary to last the five of them during the next few possible weeks she would be gone.

This would be a different trip though, for an entirely different reason than the usual. Izumi would go and visit _him_ because of her grandson's faux "bloodline." He was a pleasant man and the Uzumaki clan was in his debt for the past thirty-five or forty so years, but she hated the trip because it was so long and dangerous. Though, if it was beneficial for Naruto, she would do it. Because that's what family does.

After helping Meng, the family chef, with making breakfast, she made her announcement near the end of the meal.

"Naruto-kun, Hinata-san," she said as she always addressed them, "Today I am leaving for a few weeks. I-"

"Izumi-baa-chan, you're _leaving_?! Why?" Naruto whined.

"I was just about to tell you that. I must go see someone and I don't know how long I'll be gone. It'll be at least two weeks, maybe more." She said, indifferent.

"Where are you g-going?" Hinata questioned. Even after all this time, old habits died hard.

"Onto the mainland and up in the mountains. That's why it's going to take so long."

"Can't you stay a _little_ while longer?"

"Naruto-kun, I should have attended this business a month ago. I can't delay this any longer. Besides, it's for your benefit."

After a brief hug goodbye from both of her students, Izumi left the Uzumaki mansion in the same clothes she made the trip to Konoha in minus the mask. Other times when she left she would dress in a commoner's clothes and carry a basket but for this long distance trip where she would be traveling many countries, something more durable was needed.

Once she got to the main road, she took to the trees and headed northward to the bridge that connected the island to the mainland. It took five days to get to Konoha at a civilian's pace but she was going faster than that and wasn't going there anyways, so she made it to Fire Country in just under three. It took a day and a half to cross the southern part of it, another to cross into Wind country and follow the border until she was south of Earth Country. The next day she crossed into there and into the southern mountain range.

Finally, after about a week of hard traveling since she left, she came to the deepest reaches of the range where the mountains stood four miles high. The man had cast a huge genjutsu designed to turn wanderers away from the mountain he lived on but if you knew where to look and what you were looking for, it could be found. He had left a hole in it, though it was guarded.

Izumi jumped down from the rock outcropping after she had found the small warp in the scenery that marked where the gap was. She ran down the ridge of the mountain, through the thick pine forest, across the thin river at the bottom of the narrow valley and to the group of trees that appeared slightly magnified from a distance. She slowed to a walk as she approached he area and came to a stop. She took a deep breath before taking the next few steps, bracing herself.

As soon as she saw the tree to her left and the boulder to her right begin to transform, she stopped she knew what was coming but it always surprised her the few times she had been here. Izumi got down on both knees, bowed her head and put up both hands as a sign of surrender. Two towering shadows entered her vision. "I come in peace, Kurosu-san, Yori-san." She said in a loud voice.

"Look up and tell me what business you have here." A deep, warped voice said.

Izumi brought her head up and looked into the two faces of the two enormous Oni that stood in front of her, their rusty battle axes drawn.

The two stood at least eight feet tall, one with an ugly gray wrinkled and rough skin, the other having the color of dark olive green. They wore no helmets on their heads because of their two twisting horns that grew above their ears and slanted backwards. Their noses were squashed and piggish, their eyes both yellow and beady on their broad faces. A mane of hair grew on their heads and a bit down their necks matted and tangled, looking as if it had never been combed. The gray Oni had red hair and the green one's was an earthy brown. All the teeth on the top rows were visible with two long fangs that ended past their chins and curved outwards that were where their canines should be. Their heavy body frames with huge bulging muscles were mostly covered by rough tunics that could be seen through small gaps in the heavy body armor they wore. They had no metal on them from the mid-thigh down and they each wore a pair of well used geta. Knives and other small weapons were cluttered onto leather belts around their waists as well as a few pouches that held miscellaneous items.

"I wish to speak to Yoshisune Michinaga-sama on important matters."

"Recite the phrases of admittance." The gray one said in a similar gravelly voice.

"I swear upon my soul

No harm shall be

To the Demon and his kind

I am no foe,

For I know the Sage of Old,

The Sage on his Mountain High,

The Sage of the Dark Beings,

His knowledge I have come to find.

It shall not be abused

Nor shaped to do wrong

I swear this upon my life." Izumi recited it like she meant it.

The two demons stood aside and melted back into their previous unassuming forms.

Izumi, glad that she had found the right place and that the hardest part was over, sighed and continued on up the mountain and around so she ended up on top of a cliff about 400 feet high. There were bristly pine trees that stood only about twenty feet tall on top, and nestled between them was a small hermit's cottage.

* * *

"Naruto-san and Hinata-san, today we will take a break from training." Myuri announced after laying his chopsticks aside from finishing his breakfast.

If he had any more energy, Naruto would have exploded with joy. Instead, he put his head down on the table, closed his eyes and moaned. Hinata just looked at her sensei as if he had two heads. "G-Gomen, what?" The stutter this time was not from habit, but from surprise.

"I would like to take a break from our regular training. No we are not moving on, Naruto-san." He said seeing the new look on Naruto's face. "You two look like you need it and I am also extremely curious." It seemed like he said those last words to himself.

"Curious? About what?" Naruto groaned, his head still on the table. "You already know everything about us, what more do you want?"

"Do you remember your test?"

"Yeah."

"Do you remember that you performed Rasengan and missed me by mere inches?"

"Yeah. What are you trying to tell me? You wanna learn it?"

"No. What I am curious about is how you learned that technique."

"So you do want to learn it." Naruto lifted his head off the table to look at Myuri properly.

"No again. You see, I can perform that technique too. Every single Uzumaki present here and all of our ancestors spanning back over a thousand years could."

"_That's a lie_! The Yondaime Hokage invented it!" Naruto argued angrily.

"No he did not. S-"

"Then let me see it! Show me a Rasengan!" he said fiercely, standing up out of his seat as if to make his point.

Myuri did, knowing that the conversation would get nowhere if he didn't do as his student requested. He lazily held out his palm and formed a blue orb of spinning chakra in his right. He held it for a moment and let it dissipate and put his hand back under the table. He watched as Naruto sat back down in a half daze and leaned slightly towards Hinata as if she would provide him with support.

"As I was saying, somehow he knew your mother and talked to her about it. I remember her as a young girl witnessing her older cousins practicing it as well as her aunts and uncles demonstrating it to them. Your Hokage essentially 're-created' it from your mother's description. So did you learn it from him? Your Hokage?"

Naruto looked down at his lap, his shaggy blonde hair covering his eyes. "No." The word was hard and full of pain. "The Yondaime died the day I was born."

"So where did you learn it from?" Myuri pressed.

"His name is Jiraya. He calls himself the Toad Sage and he's one of the Sannin of Konoha. He was the Yondaime's sensei and he learned it from him. He's the author of those stupid, disgusting Icha Icha books. I call him Ero-Senin because he's always peeping at girls in the bathhouses!" He scrunched his face at the last sentence.

Myuri fell into one of his silent spells for a few minutes. "Come." He said after a while. "Let us go out back. The dishes can wait."

"But I thought you said we aren't training today!" the boy protested.

"We aren't. I want you to perform it for us."

"So much for no training." Naruto grumbled under his breath, loud enough for only Hinata to hear as they stood from their places at the table.

She smiled at him in response. Even if she was over the stuttering reflex for the most part, she was still too shy around him to say anything back.

They put on their sandals and went outside, around the large dojo and to the open space of the training ground. It was far from midday so the sun hung low in the sky, creating long shadows. Everyone save for the student and master in question stood to the side.

"Create a Rasengan." Myuri ordered.

Naruto crossed his fingers in the appropriate manner and muttered "Kage Bunshin." A shadow clone came into existence on his right and behind him. He closed his eyes and drew the chakra from inside him to his palm.

Ah! How good it felt to have chakra flowing through him! It had been awhile since he had done anything that involved chakra, much less molding it, so it was nice relief to feel that he still had it.

As soon as it was completed, he let the clone dissipate to smoke and held his hand out with the completed Rasengan. "There. Happy?" Myuri inspected it from all angles, even taking Naruto's wrist and shaking it to see if he would let go of the chakra, which he did not.

Finally, after a more tests, the ancient man nodded approvingly. "It looks like a true Rasengan."

"Great. Can I go sleep now, since we aren't training?"

He completely ignored Naruto and kept speaking. "Although, the way you formed it was interesting. Through my long life, I have never seen one of my students form it that way. Was that how Jiraya-san did it?"

"No he does it the same way you do it."

Myuri simply looked at Naruto and said, "You are truly a boy full of surprises."

The rest of the day was peaceful and Naruto spent it sleeping, waking only for meals. Even Kyuubi backed down and let his thoroughly worn-out container sleep peacefully with no dreams, respecting Myuri's decision.

Hinata, on the other hand, did the exact opposite despite the soreness in her muscles. She joined the family in chores that needed to be done and helped Meng make lunch and dinner because she too loved to cook. Nearly all of this she did in silence and just enjoyed her sensei's company. At one point she began to hum a lullaby had taught her while she was still alive all those years ago. After going through it a few times, Meng caught on too and they hummed and cleaned and did laundry in much more than harmony.

Uesugi had come by at one point to deliver some clothes that needed to be washed and gave melodic Meng and harmonious Hinata a crinkly eyed grin when he heard them. "Women…" he muttered under his breath as he walked away. His wife heard and she smiled, knowing exactly what he was thinking through that strange bond called marriage.

* * *

"Ah! Izumi-chan!" The man placed his pipe down to run over to his friend and embrace her. "It's always so nice to see you!" His tone dropped. "Though I suspect you didn't come all the way here from Whirlpool country just to have a chat! What brings you to my humble house?"

She laughed. "I see you have taken to youth again."

"I find it preferable since your joints get creaky after a half dozen centuries." He jokingly agreed.

The old woman pulled out of the hug, dropped down one knee and bowed her head. "Michinaga-sama, I have a request for you."

"Oh stop with all these stupid formalities! You know I hate them!" He pulled her up off the floor by her arm.

"But you're hundreds of years older than I am!" she protested. "How can I not respect someone of that stature and who has also helped protect my family?"

It was true. Taking one look at Yoshisune Michinaga, you would assume he was a young man in his late twenties with his sleek black hair only an inch long, his handsome shaven face and his six foot four inches tall, impressive and muscular body.

The only thing that gave away his true age was his grey eyes. When he was a young boy almost a thousand years ago, they used to be blue, the brightest anyone could imagine. Now after all those hundreds of years had past, they had slowly faded to grey full of wisdom from pain and grief, eyes who had seen too much life lost before them.

"You're my friend, as is your family and friends must be friends, not stiff uptight feudal lords." He guided her to the edge of his porch where his pipe lay smoking and abandoned. "Now, what can I do for you, young madam?" He put it back in his mouth, sat down on the edge and looked at her, intrigued.

Izumi had taken her pack off by the door so she had no trouble sitting down beside him. "My grandson arrived from Konohagakure with his female friend about a month and a half ago. The next day, we learned that he had the Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed in my grandson-"

"What!? My old friend, Kyuubi, the nine tailed fox, King of the Bijuu!?"

"The same one apparently."

"How…Never mind. Excuse me. That was rude. Go on."

"Yes, he was sealed in my grandson by his father, the Yondaime Hokage. He seems to have poor control of the demon's chakra. We were wondering if you could teach him for two years up here so he has superb control of him and if you could train him in such a way that it would be extremely beneficial to his training in the Kenbu-Do."

Michinaga turned forward and his face fell into one of thought.

The sun traveled all the way across the sky and descended to the opposite horizon. The deep blue darkened and neither moved an inch from their positions, save for Michinaga's jaw as he continued inhaling deeply from his pipe even long after it had died out.

As the last of the light disappeared and only a faint glow in the west remained, Izumi got up, stretched her stiff muscles and went inside to prepare something for the two of them to eat.

As she boiled the dried meat on the tiny wood stove, she thought and hoped that he would accept since making dinner was only a job that kept hands busy. She knew that he would only say no if he thought that it was too much of a risk, that the Kyuubi was too powerful for him to control. Of course, that was highly unlikely. Michinaga wasn't called the Demon Sage for nothing. He knew everything about the World of Demons and its different cultures, not to mention how to control all the aspects of every demon in existence. He was in good favor with all of the Nine Bijuu, no matter how savage they were, and in turn all of their Lesser Demons. He even had good terms with the Shinigami.

What was holding him back then?

She placed their dinners in two rough cut wooden bowls and brought them outside, sitting down next to Michinaga and placed his next to him. It would be awhile before he moved, Izumi figured because he had done the same thing when they had asked him to create a ward to protect the remnants of their clan somehow. This was how the Oni chakra cloak came about.

Izumi ate her dinner in silence with her fingers, patiently waiting for his answer. He still hadn't moved long after she had finished. She left him and went inside the cottage to call it a day and sleep.

She practiced all her katas the next day, starting from the lowest, the beginners that she had learned as a child and worked her way up to the most advanced one, doing over a hundred in total. All in all, it occupied her for a majority of the day and when she finished, Michinaga held the same position as the same day before.

* * *

"Izumi, wake up."

Something shook her and she rolled over.

"What is it Michinaga?" she groaned.

"You said your grandson brought along a friend with him, a girl if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes, why?" She sat up, fully awake.

"Describe her to me."

"Her name is Hyuuga Hinata. She's about four and a half feet tall, has dark hair, little self-esteem despite her family name, a very thoughtful and kind person and she's in love with my grandson though he's completely oblivious to her feelings. They're really good friends. They do a lot of things together."

"So if he left to train here for two years, she would be all alone down there with you and your family for those same two years?"

"Essentially yes."

"Did you ever think of her?" He seemed almost upset now, even if his face was hidden in the dark.

"Of course. We had a bit of trouble when she came because we were expecting someone else but that was resolved and now they're secretly engaged."

"Do you realize what you have done?" He was very angry now. "Do you realize what will happen if he comes here alone? And what he will be like when he returns? She might not even know him anymore! Does she even know why he would have to come here in the first place? That he has Kyuubi-san sealed in him?"

She was shocked speechless by his accusations.

"Sometimes I wonder how your uncle thought these things out. You made it worse when you betrothed her to him. You are all just forgetting about her and shunning her aside when she's just as important as your grandson! She will carry his children someday and when that happens she's going to be even more important than him!" he said through clenched teeth. "Also, it pays to never be lonely. If I have learned anything throughout my long life, it is that things are best when you have someone to share it with. And, she might be even more precious to him than he realizes when he leaves. Did you ever think of that?

"This is my condition: this girl must come with him. She will train here for two years alongside him and learn how to control him if he loses himself to Kyuubi-san if it ever happens."

Izumi nodded her head, still too shocked to give any other response.

"Does your family have anything else to ask of me?"

She shook her head.

"Then you may leave in the morning."

* * *

**A/N: So Hinata is shunned no more, thank the lord. Even I felt like I was shunning her a bit and that's not good. She's going to come foreward and start talking.**

**I just want to thank you all for being so patient with me. I have a slow writing process, so it takes me a while to get things out.**

**I'm sorry again that this was a bit late. And I wish it was longer but I'm saving whats happening next for the next chapter obviously because what happns next will start a whole new chain on events. Speaking of which...**

**Next Chapter: The secret he has kept since the night his life changed is in danger of being revealed to her, his most precious person. Will the lie he created hold, or will she see through it?**

**IBP**


	15. Fear Your Love

**A/N: Ok, this is a major chapter as you all know. BEFORE YOU READ, READ BELOW!!**

**I am currently looking for another BETA reader. VFsnake, it's not because you're a bad BETA-er, it's just I feel like I need a bit more input now that this story has quite a few readers. **

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**BEFORE YOU JUMP THE GUN AND SAY OMG CAN I PLZZZ BE THE BETA, READ WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR IN A BETA READER.**

**1. Can correct grammar and spelling (obviously)**

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**3. THIS IS MAJOR: Will give me constructive criticzm and can find any plot holes I may have missed. Meaning anything from the length of someone's hair (such as Hinata's)**

**4. ARE A TOUGH AS NAILS EDITOR**

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**You must fill all of these, except for maybe 4, but if you can fill 4, then that's excellent (not to mention preferred.) If you are interested, PM me telling why you think you fit the bill. DON'T put it in a review. I don't want peple seeing others essays on why and improving theirs from the others. **

**Now, other than that, please read and review!**

* * *

**Chapter 15 – Fear Your Love**

Hinata sighed at her refection in the mirror. She ran her hand through the hair on the back of her head, now that it was long enough.

"Ugh. It looks so retarded like this."

Getting a haircut seemed the right thing to do now, but she hadn't been let outside of the walls of the Uzumaki estate since she had arrived. And Kami knows how badly it would turn out if Meng or Izumi did anything besides her bangs.

Hinata let her hand fall to her side. She would let it grow. Besides, it might look better that way.

* * *

(A week later)

Since they had begun their training on August 22, it had been exactly three months of sore muscles and restless nights except for that break on October 10. Neither of the students noticed the passing of time or counted the days as they went by, as months and weeks were a thing of the outside world.

On November 23, neither student was woken by their teacher at six in the morning, yet their internal clocks were set as such so they woke up anyways. Going through the motions of their morning routines, they didn't notice something was different about their teachers until they didn't join them on the training grounds in the morning.

"Myuri-sensei, aren't you going to train us this morning?" Naruto had asked when he made no move to go outside.

"I was under the impression that the first part of your training was done, but if you would like to continue…" he trailed off.

The boy's eyes widened. "Are we done? Seriously?"

"As a celebration, Izumi was itching to take Hinata-san and you out to the local village, and get to know the community. You've been training for exactly three months, did you know that?"

"Only three months? It seemed like forever!"

"Yes, now go tell Hinata-san. I bet she's wondering the same thing."

Naruto ran off yelling 'thank you!' over his shoulder and then Hinata's name. He found her in her room slipping on her sandals in preparation to go and train. He ran in and tackle-hugged her, pinning her to the ground and jabbering loudly in her ear.

"Hinata, Hinata, guess what guess what? We're done! We're done with the first part of the training! Now we're going to learn the real stuff and learn how to kick some serious butt! And guess what else? Today, Baa-chan is going to take us out somewhere and we're going to get out of this big stuffy house! Ohhhh, I hope wherever we go they have ramen cause then you and me can get some and-"

Hinata burst out laughing, shutting Naruto up immediately.

He released her and looked at her curiously. "What's so funny, Hinata-chan?"

"Naruto-kun, I just can't believe how hyper you are now. It's been f-forever since I've seen you like this." She wiped her eyes she was laughing so hard.

"Is that a bad thing?" He looked like a puppy now.

"Far from it." she smiled.

He flashed one of his blinding smiles back. "Thanks." He got up from the tatami mats and ran back to his room in a flash. "C'mon, get changed. We're gonna have ourselves some fun!"

Hinata shook her head and got up from the floor, still grinning. He and his enthusiasm were so hard to resist!

She pulled on her usual navy blue pants which felt a tad small and a light purple short sleeved t-shirt. Hinata had never thought she would need a purse during the five years she would be gone so she never thought to bring one, but she did have a wallet. It was full to the brim with ryu notes that had nice large three and four digit numbers printed on them since money really wasn't an issue in the Hyuuga clan and she might be the next clan headmistress. She tucked it in her back pocket, grabbed her sandals and went to the front room to wait.

A minute later Naruto blew through the room, running to the West wing of the house to find his grandmother, yelling her name the whole way. Another five minutes later, he dragged Izumi by the wrist into the front room. He was babbling so fast in excitement that neither of the women could understand what he was saying.

Izumi wore long brown pants secured with a rope belt and an olive green Chinese shirt that folded completely across her front and was secured just below the right side of her collarbone, similar to TenTen's, Hinata noted. Her hair was tied into a low bun. A grey fishnet shawl and a pair of geta she held in her right completed the look of an old common woman.

Naruto had on his loud orange pants which he desperately needed to get rid of and a black t-shirt that had a swirl-flame design in the center.

"Now for this trip, you two have to act like you're together, got it?" Izumi looked at Hinata with a gleam in her eye. The girl's eyes widened, knowing exactly what she meant.

Naruto stared. He wouldn't have known what that meant even a short month ago. "What? Why can't I and Hinata-chan act like siblings or something?"

Izumi laughed. "Simply because you two look nothing alike."

Hinata blushed. Oh God, this was going to be horrible. A dream come true in a sense but it was nevertheless horrible and not to mention embarrassing. Her blush deepened.

"Do both of you have money you might want to bring?"

Both nodded; one excitedly and the other still in a weak state of shock. They left the house, though the gate, under the Oni Chakra Cloak and to the road.

"How far away is this place?" asked Hinata.

"It's a village only forty-five or so minutes down the road. It's no big shinobi village, though it has near the economy of one. I'll give you two time to explore when we get the food shopping done." Izumi replied.

True to her word, a little over forty-five minutes after they had left, a sprawling mass of brick, wood and concrete buildings came into view. The tallest buildings near the center were four stories high. The road they were on went straight through the middle and came out the other end of the village and continued on. Near the center, another large road intersected the first and cut through the rest of the village.

Hinata and Naruto walked side by side, close enough that their hands brushed every so often to keep up their charade and followed their guide down another large street. She went into a shop with bins of produce outside and large posters in the windows advertising sale prices on various groceries.

A half hour later the three emerged from the food market and the wicker basket that Izumi held was much heavier than it had been when it had entered. She ignored the street vendors that were yelling out their wares, selling trinkets and objects of all sorts some even snacks and made her way to the intersection of the two main roads. There was a nice grassy square in the center there as well as some benches. Izumi turned around and faced her two students.

"Now that that's over, go. Explore all you want, but be back here by eleven thirty. Oh and also, don't use your real names; use something that doesn't even resemble your real ones." She waved them off. "I'll be waiting here."

Once the two were out of earshot, Naruto grabbed Hinata's wrist. "Come on, there's got to be a ramen place around here somewhere."

He pulled her up and down the streets. Hinata's heart was wildly out of control and as she wondered if Naruto could feel her pulse though her wrist. If he did, he didn't show it.

On the sixth street they went down, they found one. Naruto cried out in joy and earned a few odd looks from the passersby but he paid them not a glance because he wanted his ramen. He flew into the place, which was called 'Ruka's Ramen Retreat' and quickly took a seat, Hinata taking the spot next to him.

A middle-aged yet still plainly pretty woman walked down to them behind the counter. "How may I help you two kids today?" she asked warmly and tucked a lock of light brown hair behind her ear.

Naruto glanced at the menu on the wall. "I'll have the deluxe ramen!"

"One miso ramen please." Hinata said.

"Coming right up." The woman turned away and walked down the counter.

"Ooooooh, I hope their ramen is as good as Mr. Ichiraku's." Naruto said. "His was the best. Did you ever eat there Aiko-chan?" He turned to Hinata.

"Plenty of times. Mainly when I got back from a mission though. His ramen is good." She agreed. "Much better then the store bought stuff." Why was she babbling to him about ramen? She had never even tried store bought! How would she know if he got technical with flavors and ingredients with her?

"That's for sure. Nothing beats freshly made."

"One deluxe ramen for the handsome boy and one miso ramen for the lovely young lady!" the brunette woman set two bowls in from them, one overflowing with a hardboiled egg, fish, bamboo shoots, baby corns, watercress, fish cakes, yum yum yum yum yum!

…and the other looking very plain next to it.

Hinata was pretty sure this was how she looked compared to Naruto.

"Enjoy!"

"Thanks lady! Itamakisu!" Naruto broke apart his chopsticks and dove right on in. Hinata watched him for a second then sighed. The three months had seemingly only changed him physically.

When Naruto was halfway done with his second bowl, Hinata asked, "Hiroki-kun, do you mind if I go and do some shopping when I'm done? I saw a few stores on the way here that l-looked interesting." His mouth too full to speak, he shook his head. "Thanks."

Hinata assumed that the ramen was very good, since he was on his third when she had finished her first and only bowl, paid for it and left. She walked down the street, browsing and looking though the windows to see what was inside. She went in a clothes shop, a jewelry store, even stopping at a few vendors stands but nothing caught her eye.

That was when she noticed the young, hulking man following her around. When she stopped, he hung around nearby just out of sight. She didn't need her Byakugan to know his eyes were focused intently on her as she walked.

In an attempt to shake him off, she turned down a more deserted street and hoped he wouldn't see her like a civilian would. It didn't work. She heard his footsteps come casually around the corner like he didn't have a care in the world.

A husky voice rang out. "Heya babe, hold on!"

She knew it was him, just by the tone of his voice. Hinata stepped up her already brisk pace and deliberately turned down another street.

Not a good idea. This place had next to no people than the one before. As soon as she realized her mistake, she ran quickly and his in the first alley she could find.

Flattened against the concrete wall, her breathing quickened. She saw her pursuer take a look down the alley and move on. Hinata closed her eyes and breathe a quick sigh of relief. When she opened them though, he stood right in front of her with a friendly but still threatening grin in his face.

"Heya pretty lady." He said as he sauntered forward. He planted a hand on the wall behind her and leaned into it, outing his face a mere foot from hers. "Why you tryin' to hide from little ol' me? I'm not gonna hurt you." The smile returned and his hand made its way to her waist.

Why oh why did she not run? She could have easily knocked him unconscious with a punch to the head or get him on the ground with a swift knee to the groin or by various other methods she learned in the Academy. This was the kind of thing she had trained for countless times over. So why was she frozen, her eyes wide and locked in his like the helpless prey in the eyes of the snake?

Her mouth opened and closed in a soundless scream. 'Move! Some part of me move, damnit! NOW!' a part of her shrieked desperately in her head. She tried to move her arm as he closed the distance between them, but her finger only twitched.

His lips were less than an inch away from hers when she shut her eyes tightly so she wouldn't see him taking advantage of her. Suddenly, there was a _whoosh_ of wind as something flew by and her eyes snapped open.

The man was gone.

Hinata looked farther down the alley to her left and she was even more scared of the sight now than even that man. She didn't know if she had been saved from evil or if had saved her.

There was this thing on top of the man that had just tried to assault and rape her and the man was fighting back. He wasn't winning.

The thing… or was it a thing? It seemed oddly familiar to her, reddish-orange and shaped like a fox-

Wait a second. That wasn't a thing. That was _Naruto_. Her _Naruto-kun_. The same one she had seen three months ago, except this one had two tails, not one.

A string of realizations came crashing down upon her at once. First, Naruto didn't have a fox cloak as a bloodline, he had a Kitsune cloak. A demon fox cloak.

He was part demon. His eyes, slitted, blood red and transforming were proof enough as they looked like the eyes of one.

She was completely terrified of him.

The man's roars of pain and agony were cut off with a sickening rip that sounded like flesh being torn open. The ripping continued and that was mixed with in with crunches of bone as Hinata watched Naruto dismember the man with every ounce of fury he had.

Looking at him now, she wasn't sure if this was the same Naruto she knew and loved. It was the same body but the monster before her had taken over it.

There was no way that this was a bloodline. It was more, it had to be more.

"Naruto…kun…" Hinata whispered in a flurry of emotions and tears.

His head whipped around and he glared at her intently, or rather the animal did. Hinata staggered back a few steps like she had been slapped across the face but her eyes remained locked with his.

Sometimes, a look can say a million words or say something that words can't describe. Sometimes, a look was all it took to make or break someone. Sometimes, someone's life changed with that look whether for better or worse. And the look in her lavender eyes now was all it took to regain himself.

Immediately, the demonic chakra melted away, the claws faded and the eyes turned back to the ocean blue they were not five minutes ago.

Naruto crouched over and straddling his victim, pitched over to the side so he sat in the dirt. He stared at the dead man before him. Yes, dead. His throat was torn open, his mouth as wide as it could go in mid-scream. The left arm was torn off and laid lifeless a foot away. His torso and shoulders were covered in deep gash marks and the whole corpse was covered in blood.

Naruto felt his hand shaking. He brought it up to his face and looked at it. It too was covered in blood.

He had just killed his first man.

He had just exposed Kyuubi big time.

And he had done all this in front of Hinata. His precious, beautiful, sister-like Hinata-chan. What would she think of him now? He looked at her and was instantly hurt by the fear and shock in her wide eyes.

"Hinata-chan…"

He had just hurt her. By doing that, he had just hurt himself by knowing that he had harmed her. Naruto buried his face in his bloody palms in horror of what he had done.

"I'm sorry…" It was barely a whisper. "I'm sorry Hinata-chan." He got up and threw his arms around her. "I'm so sorry Hinata-chan." he mumbled in her ear. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I wish you didn't."

She stood there, still shocked but reality was coming back to her. A tear ran down her cheek and she latched onto him. They cried into each other's shoulders and neither wanted to let go.

Eventually, Naruto came to his senses again. "Come on, we better get outta here before someone finds this." He gestured to the corpse.

"B-but wh-what ab-bout the b-blood?" Hinata barely managed to get past her lips.

He looked down. His shirt was covered in blood but his pants had managed to get only a few random spots on it. Even if his shirt was black, he could see the bloodstains from the angle he was looking at it. "It'll be fine. It's black, so no one will see the blood. If it'll make you feel better we can go buy a new one."

She nodded, wiping her eyes. Naruto wanted to put and arm around her to let her know that she was safe even if he was the monster here. Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets to hide the blood.

They walked out of the alley close together and headed for the nearest clothing store they could find. There Naruto bought a dark blue shirt, the first thing he laid his eyes on and asked the cashier for a bathroom. She led him to the back where he washed his hands and put on the fresh shirt. He went out with a cheerful 'Thanks' but his perfectly composed face fell off the second he stepped outside where Hinata was waiting. This time, he did put his arm around her but she still put some distance between them. He thought that either she wasn't used to having him so close or she was afraid of him. He guessed but hoped it wasn't the latter. They slowly made their way back to the center square where Izumi was waiting.

Whether she was with him or in her thoughts, he didn't care; he would try to explain himself. "After you left me at the ramen stand, I figured I'd just walk around to try and find you." The hand around her tightened into a fist.

"And then I saw him down that alley, taking advantage of you. All I could think was 'No. Not my Hina-chan.'" Naruto bared his teeth. "I lunged at him and my rage brought out…my bloodline. All I felt was this overpowering instinct to rip him apart so he couldn't hurt you. So I could protect you." He bowed his head. I gave myself to my bloodline. I let it overpower me so I could hurt him a hundred times worse then for every time he hurt you." His arm tightened around her in a gentle way. "I hope I didn't hurt you."

She didn't relax.

They were approaching the final turn that would put them in full view of the square. "Let's put on a good face for Baa-chan, okay? Act like it never happened." He grinned brightly but the happy expression didn't reach his eyes.

As they rounded the corner, Naruto withdrew his arm and put on the mask he was very practiced with. Hinata tried her best to do that too but she only managed to look like she was pleasantly surprised.

"So? How'd it go?" Izumi asked brightly.

"It was great! First we walked around to find a ramen place and we found one called Ruka's Ramen Retreat and we ate a lot!"

Hinata stood behind him and looked at him, wondering how he could fake his enthusiasm so well after what had just happened between them. The answer was simple: years and years of practice and use.

"And then we walked around some more and looked around and talked! I even got a new shirt 'cause the one I was wearing seemed a bit small. Right Hinata-chan?"

She nodded. "Yup!" Her happy tone wasn't as convincing as Naruto's.

Izumi's eyes tightened as she sensed the falseness in Hinata's words. Something had happened between them and it wasn't good but she didn't say anything. "Right then, homeward we go?"

Naruto grinned and nodded. "Hai!"

The walk home was uneventful. Naruto kept on moving closer to Hinata as they walked but she shied away. He couldn't blame her after what she had witnessed, but it pained him all the same.

* * *

The next day was the first day of their real training.

Myuri had them bring their right hand up out in front of them and left hand by their right ear, both of them open. Next, as they brought their right to their hip, the left would swing down in a slashing movement that went diagonally across from their right shoulder to left hip. All morning they stood there in stance and did this and after lunch too, except using opposite hands. Myuri, Uesugi, Meng and Izumi fixed them each time they made a mistake in the movement, even the little things such as how much their wrist was turned.

Each day of the week, they learned a new technique to this centuries old taijutsu style. Every single one of them was extremely simple, not any sort of high flying, spinning kick. Also, they did only techniques that involved the arms such as blocks, strikes and punches. They did not learn a single move that involved the feet, not even a simple front or side kick.

Naruto got really excited when on the last day of the week they created a kata out of almost all of the new techniques they learned. The kata was, like the moves, a simple, flowing string of moves designed like a fight against an imaginary opponent. Myuri told them it would be awhile before they added in wooden swords. He also told them that in order to earn the right to practice with the wooden sword, they had to master this new taijutsu style and learn and master at least thirty of these "katas," each of which became progressively harder and complicated.

They were finally getting somewhere.

Inside though, he was still worried. Worried because of Hinata. She looked at him and smiled but it just wasn't the same as before. When she thought he wasn't looking, she gave him a frightened look and he could have sworn she shuddered once or twice. She still shied away from him. She didn't talk to him unless he addressed her. Before, she was beginning to talk to him regularly out of her own free will. Now, they were back at square one. They didn't talk before because they didn't know each other and that was okay but now they didn't talk because of the strained sense of fear between them.

And it was killing him. She didn't seem to relax the slightest bit since that day. He didn't know if she would ever loosen up. He didn't know if their easy-as-breathing friendship that he cherished so much would ever return the way things were going.

Plain and simple, he missed his Hina-chan.

She, on the other hand, was not doing so well herself.

She wanted to forget. She didn't want to remember the beast etched in her mind. She wished that it all would just go away and pretend that it was a bad dream. But it wouldn't because the memory she dreaded and tried to forget was brought up in her dreams.

Every night since the incident, Hinata was having those purple monster-cat nightmares, which would occasionally be visited by an orange Kitsune or demonic Naruto. They were a constant reminder to her and she couldn't get them off her mind.

That also bothered her. Naruto did have more than a bloodline. The eyes said it all. He had more than a bloodline. He just had to. Nothing she had ever seen or read about compared to his. It had so much raw power that you could feel it rolling off his body.

She just wanted to accept that it was his bloodline and move on. But she couldn't something was holding her back and she didn't know what it was.

This was all a part of the way she was now. Uncomfortable, unsure, insecure, frightened around him, even if she still loved him.

'What will become of us?' she wondered. 'What will we do?'

* * *

Weeks later, Naruto just couldn't deal with it anymore. He had to tell her.

As he walked to her bedroom down the hall, he reminded himself why it was even worth risking telling her this.

He had thought over the incident and played in his head, stopping on images of Hinata's terrified face. He wasn't trying to torture himself when he did that, even if it did, he was trying to tell what she was thinking. It became apparent to Naruto that she must have realized that he was more than what he claimed and she didn't know what it was. So, naturally, she became afraid of him since people are afraid of the unknown. She could only guess at a monster, some sort of demon. He hoped she wouldn't have read too far into his display of a demonic fox-shaped aura and linked it to his time of birth and thus his secret. If she had, then that would have been a reasonable explanation for being scared of him.

Most likely, Naruto figured, she hadn't figured that out and was left doubting his quick, flimsy lie. His conscious weighed down on him, knowing he had lied but it was necessary at the time. Necessary to guard her.

If he told her the truth, then she would either accept the truth as a natural part of him and they could go back to being best friends or she would accept the truth and be scared of him and become just another person on the streets of Konoha with fear in their eyes. But Hinata-chan knew him so she wouldn't abandon him, would she?

The mental anguish was too much to take. Knowing he had deliberately lied to her and finding no comfort in his excuse. Knowing she feared him and the looks and actions cutting him deeper than a sword through the heart. The only way to solve this was the big gamble of telling her about the Kyuubi, getting all or nothing in return.

Naruto knocked on the door frame to her room. "Hinata-chan? Can…" His voice failed him in his nervousness. "Can I come in?"

Behind the sliding door, Hinata froze. The idea of being alone with him in a room, much less her bedroom, would have pleased her a month ago but not now. She would have said "No." outright if the way he asked her hadn't showed he was scared and for what reason?

"O-okay."

He walked in, closed the door behind him softly and sat down, cross legged in front of her. She looked him over. He was looking down and twiddling his fingers rapidly. This was another first Hinata had ever seen from him; Naruto openly being nervous.

He didn't move from there for a few moments so Hinata resumed setting up her bed for the night, wondering where this strange behavior came from.

"Hinata-chan, can you… sit down please?"

She flashed him a doubtful look but otherwise did what he asked.

"Do you remember the village trip from a little while ago and what happened on it?" Naruto asked slowly.

"I-I've been t-trying not to."

He felt his heart stop for a moment as he considered what that could've meant. He bit his lip. "There's something I want to tell you about that."

* * *

**A/N: Kukuku.. I AM EVIL!! Mwahaha!**

**...Yes, I know you all are dying to find out how this goes. And belive me, it will go awesomely because I have it all planned out. Will she reject him? Will she accept? Will she confess something of her own? Wait and see!**

**I think this is the fastest turnaround time ever. Yays for me!**

**Um, I was going to say something else, buuuut I forgot. hehe. Oops.**

**-IBP-**

**Next chapter: The suspense is dreadful... AND YOU HAVE TO ENDURE IT!**


	16. Fear of Embracing

**A/N: I am such a bad author, I left all of you hanging for a month and a half.**

**Well, let me update you all with the fact that school has started and has been going for almost 2 full months now. And this would have been out faster if I wasn't on the volleyball team. Oh happy happy joy.**

**I was waiting to finish up some artwork before I put this up, but that wasn't done because I have spent all of my extra time working on my Vampire Knight Halloween cosplay as I told you all before. I wanted to finish the artwork before I did put this up but I felt I was depriving you all too long. Loverly vicious circle, isn't it?**

**Though, I am putting up what I do have done up on my Deviantart page. Have fun looking at them.**

**Now ignore my dithering, and read and review the story!  
**

**

* * *

Chapter 16 – Fear of Embracing**

Ah. This was the piece of the puzzle she had been missing for years now. She remembered she would sometimes follow him around, undetected when she was younger. She would watch him, wondering why he would look so sad sometimes and worked so hard, almost bringing himself to the point of tears.

The look in his eyes now was an echo of that same determination from something Hinata did not know. Yet, she could tell easily now he was scared.

"There's something I want to tell you about that."

Her stomach lurched but she kept her composure.

Naruto took a deep breath. He would let her figure it out but he would give her the most basic fragments. She had a great deal already but she was missing a few major details.

"When is my birthday?" he asked.

How did this have anything do with the demonic aura? "October 10." Hinata replied immediately.

"What happened that day?

"The Kyuubi no Kitsune was killed by the Yondaime, who died from the effort."

Naruto was shaking his head before she even finished. "That's not what happened. The Yondaime died, yes, but he couldn't kill the Kyuubi."

What? "How do you know this Naruto-kun? What really happened then?"

He clenched his jaw, trying to hold back the moisture in his eyes that threatened to break free. He never imagined telling this to someone that mattered so much would be so hard. "Remember all the myths and legends about the raw power of the Kyuubi?

Hinata nodded warily, a cold pit forming in her stomach.

"Do you think all of that could be destroyed by something only a fraction as powerful?"

"So the K-Kyuubi is…still alive?"

"Yes." he said gravely.

The last piece settled in place and she froze. "Y-you're th-the…the…"

Aw crap. She had assumed the worst possible thing. The tears he could not hold back anymore started running down his face she said it, the thing he feared most….she looked just like the villagers did.

"Hinata-chan, no-"

"Kyuubi."

She shrank away when his hand twitched towards her.

"Hinata, please-" Naruto's eyes were pleading.

"No, no, no, no, no, no…" She shook her head rapidly in denial.

"Hinata!"

She hadn't even noticed it but she was suddenly lying halfway on and halfway off her futon. Naruto was on top of her, forcing her to look at him. His face and eyes were livid and desperate, the pain of how difficult this was for him shown by tears.

"Hinata-chan, please, listen to me. I'm begging you. You don't understand. I'm not the Kyuubi."

"B-but you just said-"

"No you got it all wrong. The Kyuubi, more, specifically his spirit, is alive within me. I'm his jailer."

She just stared at him in disbelief.

"By some cruel twist of fate the Yondaime sealed him within me the day I was born. I was the only child available so it had to be me. If I could, I would have turned back time and been born a day earlier or later, just so I wouldn't be the monster everyone saw me as." Naruto slumped backwards off of her and hid his face in his hands. "So now you know." _What will you do, Hinata-chan? Run and hide? Scream and leave me here, broken?__ "_Just like the villagers did to me." he whispered to himself.

She laid there for a good minute, slowly digesting the information. Then she steadily sat up. "That…" She trailed off. "I have to go." Hinata scrambled to her feet and opened the window, letting the cold December air blast into the room.

Naruto looked at her back sadly the moisture trying to escape his eyes again. "Will you stay?"

She had one foot on the windowsill and looked down, refusing to meet his eyes. "I…I don't know." And then she was gone.

He grabbed a fistful of his bangs and took a deep breath. He could only hope for the best.

* * *

Hinata sat in the highest branches of the huge sakura tree, looking into the dark sky. She was shivering from the frigid air but she paid no attention.

Up here in the clear air, his confession seemed all the more real. Not that she had doubted or thought it was a lie, but outside, where she was more in tune with nature, things like mighty demons became believable.

Hinata's head was spinning with a million different questions and thoughts, each being replaced by another before she got a chance to answer. Despite the buzz, she had enough control over herself to focus on the few questions that mattered.

First, what did she think about him now that she knew the truth? And from that, would she run?

It was…hard. Hard knowing that he could unleash a power that could crush mountains and cause tsunamis with a wave of one of his chakra tails. Yes, right now she was scared. Not fearful of him though, because she knew that he would never hurt her.

The legends surrounding the Kyuubi told of its great power, rivaling that of the gods. Anybody outside of Konoha would laugh at her if she told them she had seen him with her own eyes because he hadn't been seen in an over decade. Occasionally there would be the claim that someone saw a Kitsune here or there but those were few and far between and not one of them ever had nine tails. The fact that the greatest and most powerful demon to ever walk the land was inside her best friend, crush and fiancée was a bit astounding to say the least, because it was a living legend.

And after all of this, her feelings for him didn't waver one bit. They stood as solid as ever but her judgment had been clouded by a fog of fear. That had melted into being merely terribly afraid.

Hinata realized that now she shared this burden with him and that when the villagers back in Konoha looked at him, hatefully and with fear, that it would hurt her too because she knew the reason. She shivered, not because she was cold, but because they knew nothing of the real Naruto and believed him to be the demon, just like she had first thought.

As she contemplated all of this, the image she had of Naruto slowly morphed from the red-eyed beast to the blue-eyed, tortured expression she had last seen him wear. She didn't see the monster anymore; she saw a boy. And she realized that while the monster was part of the boy, it was not the boy. She still loved the boy; she just now knew that he had a secret part to him. She didn't care if he had a third eye or two heads. If he was hurt, she would fear for him, nurse him, help him in any way she could because she still saw him as what he was: human, through and through. Not now and not ever a monster.

With that last thought, Hinata had answered herself a million times over.

* * *

Sasuke walked down a road that followed the coastline. The sea breeze played with his long hair sometimes and his emotionless face gave away nothing of what was bubbling inside.

Frustration like no other was eating away at him. Since had left Konoha, it had been six months of wandering. Six months and nothing had turned up that would point him in the direction of Orochimaru.

He had decided first that he would wander among the Northern Countries and see if he could find the Hidden Village in the Sound. As it turned out, there was no Village, no city like Konoha, which greatly surprised and frustrated him.

Sasuke had traveled through every single one of the Countries, except Earth Country because he thought they wouldn't let any Nin from Konoha within their borders, missing or no.

He had listened to every word, every comment, every superstition about the Sound ninja and followed each of those leads, each turning up empty. Not once had he seen a Sound Nin though all this time, unlike Nins from other Villages and Countries. He had even gone to the all night bars in hopes to catch one but they didn't even show their faces then.

He had begun to lose hope and become angry with himself for going out on this stupid excursion but he convinced himself that this was the only way to get enough power to rival that of his elder brother, Itachi.

Another thing he had to worry about were the posters he had begun to see that had his face on it and a 100,000 ryu reward for his capture. Those he had only seen within the past few weeks, and he had heard some rumors about him as well.

Sasuke wandered off the path towards a clump of trees situated by the shore. He jumped into the middle branches of the least visible and farthest tree from the road. In an effort to calm himself, he sat down, relaxed against the tree, closed his eyes and cleared his mind so it was a blank page. The sun, warm on his face, was helping, soothing and soon he was drifting, drifting, drift…

"Excuse me."

The soft voice woke Sasuke and he shot up ready. He activated his Sharingan and checked in every direction.

In the next tree over stood a girl about his height and age. She had long brown hair that reached to her lower back and a kind face and smile. She wore a pair of geta and a green robe with a wide black sash tied around her mid-section which made her chest seem a bit larger than it actually was. She had no pack, but she had a brown pouch tied behind her left hip.

Ah, she was a ninja, just like him.

There was something so familiar about her, but Sasuke couldn't exactly put his finger on it and tell what it was.

"Sorry," she repeated, "I didn't want to startle you but I was just wondering who was here since I felt the presence of someone's chakra."

Definitely a kunochi.

"Huh?" Sasuke said.

"There are no shinobi that live in the area except for me. I wasn't sure if you were living here now since your chakra wasn't moving." She said politely.

"I was just passing through."

She nodded in agreement and gave a small smile. She bowed. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Momochi Haku."

That's where he had seen her before!

Sasuke smirked. "You know, we have met before."

She frowned and quirked and eyebrow. "Really? I don't seem to remember you. When and where did we meet?"

His smile stayed, enjoying this game. "Last time we met, you nearly killed me."

"I've killed and spared many. Please tell me who you are." A hint of annoyance crept into Haku's voice.

"My former sensei killed your former sensei, Momochi Zabuza."

Her face went blank for a moment. Then… "Oh!" Haku loosely pointed at him and the quirked eyebrow returned. "You…I was fighting you on the bridge, right? You and your orange friend?"

Sasuke looked amused. "Yes."

"But I don't remember your name…" she continued. "I don't think I even got it then. Which brings us back to you and why you're not telling me your name."

Sasuke scowled, his fun ruined. "Hn. Sasuke."

"Don't you have a last name?"

"I am the last of my line and I abandoned both my family name and village some time ago." His words were harsh.

Haku bowed again. "Forgive me, I am just curious. It's nice to meet you again, Sasuke-san. Would you like to stay the night at my house?"

He paused for a moment, debating, and then passed it off as hospitality and not love interest. She was different than the girls at home, polite and cultured rather than swooning and obsessive.

"Sure, but I will leave immediately at dawn."

She jumped down to the ground lithely. "Follow me."

He did, through the trees, across the road and through a field that was dull yellow with late winter weeds. Finally, they stopped next to a very small cottage that was situated next to a rice paddy.

She unlocked the door and led him though a large room that served as a kitchen and a general use room. A low square table was positioned in the center. Two sliding doors created two more rooms off from the main room and Haku opened the one on the right. It was completely empty save for some boxes piled in a corner. "This is where you will sleep. Until dinner is ready, you can do whatever you like."

Sasuke bowed out of respect, something he did rarely. "Thank you." He dropped his pack and went back outside. There was a small area of hard packed ground that was flat and worn from use. A single post stood off to one side that had much evidence of being beaten from numerous kicks and punches.

The sun was a few feet above the horizon and Sasuke estimated that he had about only an hour or so before it got dark, so he activated his Sharingan and punched an imaginary foe to his left.

Since he had left Konoha, his eyes had been activated to the third tomoe stage from a group of bandits. They had attacked him when he had made camp one night in the woods just off the road. In the fury that had resulted, every single person of the thirty or so that were part of the group was dead. Sasuke had killed them all mercilessly and thought nothing of it, only that they were first of the many to come. He had later gone through the bodies of each for gear and spoils and found one of the posters asking for his capture.

Sasuke continued with slaying his imaginary opponents, ducking, dodging, blocking, countering until he noticed Haku standing outside the house, watching him.

"You're very skilled," she began when he stopped, "but I still bet I can beat you in hand to hand combat."

"Hn." Sasuke turned away. "I doubt it. I'm much stronger now than I was before when we first fought." No emotion colored his voice.

"Gomen, I came out here to tell you that dinner is ready, not to comment on your taijutsu." she said with another bow.

Sasuke sighed and followed her in, taking his dirty and worn sandals off at the door. He was immediately struck by the smell of hot food. The table was set for two so that they faced each other while they ate. A standard meal of fish, noodles and rice was steaming in between them.

Sasuke sat down, served himself a bowlful and muttered an "Itadakimasu" before taking a bite. He chewed slowly, checking for any poisons she might have added and found none.

"What, does the food taste bad?" Haku asked, seeing his expression.

He swallowed. "No. I still do not trust you even if you are generous with your hospitality because you are my former enemy and that there is a huge reward out there for my capture. I was checking to see if you managed to slip something in."

She nodded, understanding exactly where he was coming from.

There was another moments silence before she asked, "Why is there a bounty on you? Have you defected from your village?

Sasuke chose his words carefully. "Yes. I decided to leave because there isn't power there anymore for me to get. I realized that in order to reach my goal, I would need more power than they could offer me so I left to go find more myself."

"What goal?"

"To kill my brother and thus avenge my clan. I won't let anybody stand in my way."

Haku let it drop. By the way that Sasuke talked about it, it was something he didn't like nor want to discuss.

Silence pervaded again until both were done eating.

"Goodnight." Sasuke said politely as he rose from the table.

"Sasuke-san."

He turned and looked at her. "Yes?"

"Would I be able to join you?"

"On what?"

"Your journey. I'm tired of this tranquil life. Even after all this time and all this fighting and killing, I've found a peaceful life doesn't suit me. I want to travel again. I will not tie myself to you. I will leave when you ask me to. If you get captured, I will try my hardest to free you to repay you for this opportunity."

Sasuke studied her carefully. "I'll think about it." He stepped into his room and slid the door closed.

* * *

Naruto swept aside a punch from Hinata, only to be surprised and caught in the side by her ridgehand. The blow knocked the air out of him even if it wasn't to the chest or stomach. He quickly recovered and caught her left leg as it came up to round house kick his stomach. He twisted it so she lost her balance and began to fall but she planted both her hands on the dojo floor and twisted back to kick him with her right. Her heel got him on the back of the head.

Lights exploded in Naruto's vision and he lost his grip on her leg; Hinata used this to sweep his feet. She pinned him in a bodylock before he could react.

Naruto struggled and writhed, trying to get out, but it wasn't called a bodylock for nothing now, was it?

"Not even foxy can help you now." Hinata smugly mumbled in his ear.

Seeing as she was right, that if he wanted to win this sparring match he would have to draw on the Kyuubi's power, Naruto slacked in Hinata's grip and tapped the wood floor twice with his elbow. "Alright, alright." he grumbled. "You got me. Again." They separated and kneeled, facing each other, waiting for Myuri's next lesson or assignment.

Hinata looked away and bit her lip in an effort not to smile at those last four words. This little habit had replaced her typical reaction to blush at his comments lately. She quickly peeked at him out of the corner of her eye and caught him giving her this bewildered stare, like she was the most interesting thing in the world. This wasn't the first time either.

Naruto watched her, wondering and thanking the gods that she knew the truth about him and wasn't bothered at all about it.

He remembered that night, that cold December night two months ago, was the worst night of his life, even more so than all the lonely nights when he was a child. Why did she have to matter so much to him?

He had waited in Hinata's room for her to comeback from wherever she had gone off to. While he was awake he was constantly terrorized by the thought of losing her to the fear of the Kyuubi. When he had dozed off against the wall, his nightmares constantly showed a huge, clawed, orange paw reaching out from the darkness behind large iron bars and stealing Hinata from right in front of him.

It was nearly dawn when he had woken, and he had felt a heavy weight on his shoulder. He looked down and there was Hinata-chan, sitting next to him and her head resting on him. She was asleep like he had been and a faint smile graced her innocent pale face.

Naruto had smiled and as he did so, his heart swelled to three times its size for her. The gratitude and relief he felt for her was overwhelming. He put and arm around her to keep her warm since she had left the window open and rested his head on hers, smiling also. He couldn't believe what best friends they had become, a bond so strong that it couldn't be broken by the mighty Kyuubi no Kitsune.

A small, subconscious seed had been planted that night, and now it began to break free of its shell and lay down its first root in the fertile soil.

The following morning was nothing short of amusing with Hinata and her surprise at his shift in position.

"That was a good match." commented Myuri. "Both of you as quick as lighting in your decisions and movements." _We might even be able to start sword training earlier than I anticipated._ He looked outside at the snow as he stood in the doorway. "Come. It is time for dinner."

The students put on their freezing cold sandals and made a dash from the Dojo to the main house. A fire was burning in the fire pit of the room and they warmed themselves next to it.

Dinner was complete liberation from the late March cold. Everything was delicious as always thanks to Meng and the topic of the latest Naruto-Izumi debate was over whether or not an Uzumaki sword could cut through a ninja tool made of folded steel. Hinata ate silently but happily next to Naruto, glad that he had regained much of his self esteem after their sparring match.

Life was happy, life was normal. Not even the Kyuubi mattered. Life would go on.

* * *

He knocked on Haku's door since it was impolite to go into the room of a lady uninvited. "Haku-san, are you awake?" He was dressed and ready to go.

"Hrnmmm…?"

"You can come with me. But as soon as I find what I am looking for, you will have to leave."

There was a pause. "Domo arigato gozaimasu, Sasuke-san. I will be ready in a moment."

Sasuke waited as he heard her rummaging about in her room. It was a few minutes before she opened the door dressed in travel clothes and a pack over one shoulder. Sasuke walked outside and waited for her again. She locked all the doors with a key on a ring then stood next to him a sighed.

"I'm going to miss this place. I'm going to have to come back someday."

Sasuke turned and followed the worn path back to the main road.

"Let's go Haku-san."

* * *

**A/N: TaDAAA!! You like it? Well, I'm glad you did (or didn't).**

**Whe sentece Haku says to Sasuke, the one that sounds like really complicated Japanese near the end, it's a very formal way of saying thank you. I say it every time I bow out of (finish) karate class. **

**Ok I can't say much more, right now I need to go post the art stuffs and then walk ten feet and finish my costume. Bye!**

**IBP**

**Next Chapter: "Naruto-san, Hinata-san, nobody will forge your own blade for you."**


	17. Blades Worthy of Masters

**A/N: After a reeeeally long wait, here it is! Wow, I never expected my story to be so popular in Brazil. 0.o Thank you all for your support and pushy-ness, otherwise writers block might have taken a bit longer to clear out.**

**Um, I have some artwork for this story to put up on my DeviantArt account, which you can get to from my authors page, but its not readye yet. Hehe. -sweatdrop-**

**Nahhh! Read now! I have to get to school! Enjoy! Byeee!**

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Chapter 17 – Blades Worthy of Masters**

Never minding that it was broad daylight, the Nin emerged from the trees after running for days. There were no signs of life from the small cottage, though there were signs of recent use. The ground still had faint footprints, tracks that were no more than four days old. Those and the severely scarred and beaten log that stood upright at the edge of the smooth dirt clearing was clear evidence that someone had done some recent training.

She adjusted her glasses and ran a hand through her thick black hair, frustrated. The person she was looking for obviously wasn't here, but she figured she might as well check to see what direction he had gone. She made a quick check in the immediate area and then made a scan of the land for a mile in every direction.

She learned he had gone roughly north and then turned east along with another person, from the constant parallel of another chakra that was as many days old as his. Female, the Nin guessed from the way it had a softer feel to it.

"That bastard won't like it if I keep missing him like this. He's already angry that that bitch Tayuya and her freak show gang couldn't get him from Konoha and he doesn't want to wait a few more years to get his body."

She crouched down to rest her tired legs. "Fuck, if I don't get him soon I'm going to be the one that's getting experimented on instead of the one doing the experimenting. Shiiiit." She groaned as she stood up.

Resigning to her ever enduring task, she followed his path northward.

* * *

Izumi stepped out of the back of the house, slipped on her geta and then continued on to the training ground. The _clacking _of wood striking wood rung through the air, she had grown accustomed to it the past two and a half months. It was comforting. It reminded her of when she was younger. She had trained the same exact way as her grandson and his future wife were training now, albeit at a slower pace. She remembered helping to teach the younger students as a sempai when she was in her twenties and before she had given birth to Kushina.

No matter how much happiness the knowledge of having a grandson and being with him brought her, she couldn't get rid of the sadness that came to her. She looked at Naruto and saw her daughter, and sometimes when he worked hard she could see the same energy she had at the tender age of four. The only difference was that that energy was directed at coloring books instead of slicing someone to bits using an oversized knife.

She really wished she could see Kushina one more time, just once, to have a conversation with her, just a chance to hug her. It wouldn't be enough, but at the same time, it would.

As she rounded the corner of the Dojo she saw Naruto dueling intensely with her cousin, Meng. Both using wooden swords since Meng's Soul Blade would just reduce his to toothpicks with the pace and intensity they currently had.

Meng spun around and caught the boy in the side, effectively knocking him off his feet. While he was down, she stood over him and scolded him about not being able to block her attack.

Hinata was off on another side of the grounds with Uesugi staring at a large log that stood upright. Izumi shook her head. That knucklehead was teaching the girl the fine tunings of applying power in every stroke. Hinata would have to eventually slice the log in half using only the large, four foot wooden sword she held.

_That would be quite a sight to see. _Izumi mused.

* * *

"We're going out today into the deep forest."

Naruto looked up from his plate to his Sensei. "Why?"

"You'll see when we get there. Both of you go and get changed now. We can forgo the dishes today."

Naruto and Hinata both ran off to their rooms, exchanging wild-eyed looks. Something was going to happen.

Meng looked to Myuri with confusion all over her face. "Are you sure they're ready? Isn't a bit early?"

"We don't have much time before they have to leave. There is no better than now."

"I would have waited a bit longer, you know." she chastised him.

Myuri got up from the table. "They're ready. Trust me."

* * *

"What do you think the old man is going to do?" He looked at Hinata skeptically.

She tied her hair that reached just past her shoulders back into two pigtails. "It sounded like some sort of special training thing." She shrugged. "I could be wrong though."

They walked into the dining room and found it empty. They went into the kitchen saw Izumi washing dishes.

"Obaa-chan, where's Myuri?"

"He's waiting in the front."

"Thanks."

They went to the front room and Myuri was waiting there for them, just like Izumi said.

"Why are we going into the forest today, Myuri-sama?" Hinata put her hands on her hips.

"That's not important right now. What is important is that we leave as soon as possible to give you two as much time as possible."

Naruto was about to ask again what it was they were doing but decided not to because he would only get the same answer. Kyuubi had taught him that much.

They left the mansion, through the gate and under the Oni chakra cloak. They followed Myuri through the forest for the better part of two hours. When they stopped, it was in the middle of a dense forest, unremarkable at first glance except for how dark it was. As the teenagers looked around, they noticed that the trees were of all different species, even some that shouldn't be growing in this part of the world. There were even small groups of bamboo scattered through them.

The trees varied in size, some reaching a hundred or two feet into the air, others a few feet at most. Leaved trees, maples, oaks, ashes, birches elm; trees with needles, firs, hemlocks, pines, junipers; one that they had never seen before, all of them grew and nearly blocked out the sunlight completely.

Hinata stood close to Naruto. "Where are we? This place is kinda creepy."

"This is Amatsu Senzai, The Heavenly Garden. Now I've brought you two to here because you both need to choose a tree."

Hinata raised her eyebrows.

"Ummmm…?" Naruto gestured for him to continue.

"Search for the perfect tree. The one that is most like you." Seeing them both giving him odd looks. "You'll get what I mean when you experience it. Now, you know that you can feel each other's chakra, right?" Getting a nod he continued "Each living thing has chakra and thus its own chakra signature. Sit down and get into the meditating position."

Naruto and Hinata sat cross-legged on the forest floor, pressed their palms together and closed their eyes. They felt Myuri move behind them and they heard his low voice in their ears.

"Now reach out with your chakra. Aside from each other and me, what do you feel?"

"Nothing." Naruto murmured.

"There's something….. I can't tell what it is exactly." Hinata said.

"Relax boy. You're still tense, relax completely…yes, that's it. Feel anything now?"

"Yeah…It's really small though."

"Good! Now both of you just focus on that new entity, and let it grow and expand in your mind until it diverges into multiple beings. Relax. Relax and focus…" Myuri's voice seemingly melted into the forest.

Naruto put all of his attention on goading the small pinprick of light to grow. He found it wouldn't give up its secrets so easily. He prodded and poked it for all it was worth but it still wouldn't obey.

"Hina-chan." The words were a whisper and he kept his eyes closed.

"Hmm…?"

"Do you feel anything?"

"Yeah, I feel everything in the forest…"

"How'd you do that? All I feel is just this small little thing." Awe colored every part of his voice for her.

"Just relax everything. Don't let your frustration get to you." She laughed lightly. "Don't relax too much or you might fall asleep."

That small, joyous sound filled his dark mind with an image of her face but he shook it off and focused on the task at hand. Actually, her laugh was like a medicine; he found he was completely relaxed already, like that sound guaranteed that everything in the world was going to be alright.

He focused on that small bit of light again and it now spread and grew.

"Ahah…"

"Got it?"

"Yup…Thanks!"

It expanded more and more and began to split into multiple chakras, multiple dots of light. They were slow, barely conscious things that had maybe only a small jutsu's worth of chakra but they were there nonetheless.

Soon, he could differentiate between plants and insects and even then further between plant species if he concentrated enough. Some of these plants chakras resonated more than others and he was drawn to them. He inspected them and found that they were all the same species of plant.

"Myuri-sensei, are you still around?"

"Hai." The voice came from in front of him.

"Why are some of these…trees, why do I feel some of them more than others?"

"I feel it too sensei…" Hinata whispered.

"That's exactly what I was aiming for you two to figure out. Open your eyes and stand up."

Judging by the faint light, it was almost midday. "Now do you both remember the chakra signatures you felt that were most prominent?"

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"Feel those out again and find their sources. Call me when you're done."

Hinata activated her Byakugan. She looked around to all the trees, each of which she now saw had a small orb in the center. Naruto was going in a direction off to the left of her toward his own chakra.

The brightest of her distinct type of chakra was only about 50 feet away and she got to it quickly. "Climb up the tree, find a limb about as thick as your forearm and bring it back down." Myuri instructed a minute later.

"Don't I get an axe to chop it off?"

A corner of his mouth lifted into a knowing smile. "You're a strong girl, Hinata-san." was all he said before he walked away to assist Naruto.

Hinata chakra-walked up the side of the tree, looking for the size branch her sensei had specified. When she found one near the middle reaches of the tree, she stood on a nearby branch and tried to figure out how to break it off the trunk with her bare hands.

She tried punching it off, using Jyuuken to strike it off (Hinata found she was really out of practice with her original clan's techniques), side kicks, elbows, knees and nothing worked. She tried bending it; she got as much success as before, if not less.

She was going through her list of techniques she had learned when she realized she did have an axe, the chakra axe kick to be exact. Hinata pumped chakra into her right foot and sharpened it using her exceptional chakra control. Trusting in her hope that her leg wouldn't break with the force, she swung her leg down into the branch.

It came clean off, leaving a small stump about an inch high. Very much pleased with herself, Hinata grabbed the branch and jumped the long way to the ground.

Naruto was done already, though it looked more like he tore his off the trunk. Myuri was waiting next to him. His eyes shifted from Hinata's face to the end of her clean-cut branch and approval crossed his face. "We're going back now. Follow me."

They made it back by mid-afternoon. Myuri had them lay them outside next to the bathhouse and gave them the rest of the day off. Naruto and Hinata questioned the significance of the little excursion but didn't ask their teacher, wisely knowing they would get no answer in return.

* * *

The next day was an odd one too. Myuri brought them into a basement they never knew existed.

"When a man called Pain attacked us," he explained, "all the elders hid down here so the knowledge and secrets of the Kenbu-Do might survive for future generations to study. You yourselves are the prime and only example." The light he provided with a paper lantern was just bright enough for them to make out various tongs, hammers and other metalworking tools lining the walls.

"This also doubles as our forge down here where we create our soul blades, as our ancestors have done for centuries before us." He stood next to a huge stone rectangle with a smaller rectangle imprinted in the top that was about a foot deep and laid a hand on the edge. "I forged Bahamut down here and he has served me well throughout my long life. Izumi, Meng, Uesugi and every other Uzumaki, save for your mother Naruto," he spared the boy a nod, "has forged their own Soul Blade down here having no previous knowledge or practice in the smithy. Both of you will too, starting tomorrow. It's going to take you at least a full twenty-four full hours to forge your own Soul Blades."

Naruto swallowed. "Twenty-four hours…straight?"

Hinata, sensing his unease, stood closer and put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. She still felt the small thrill every time she touched him. He relaxed slightly at the contact and smiled.

At the sight of this Myuri smiled inwardly and then continued to instruct them on the general process of how to forge, walking from place to place, and demonstrating the actions sans the hot steel they were to use. He described the ways to make many different styles of swords, to which he told them they could further alter to their own needs. He had them briefly look inside themselves to find the general shape of the blade and they were to think over it and refine it for the rest of the day.

"Make sure to wear protective clothing tomorrow and make sure it's not your uniforms because it's going to get hot and dirty down here." he called after them as they left. He watched them walk down the hallway, so close they almost touched. He saw the way Naruto looked at her; he smiled as he felt Izumi come up from behind to stand next to him, arms crossed.

"He's falling for her…Hard." she sighed as the younger pair disappeared around the corner.

"Yes, but what if he's too stupid to realize it?"

* * *

Later that day, Hinata found her sensei practicing the Kenbu-Do in slow motion on the training ground. He saw her approaching but he kept on practicing his kata.

"Myuri-sensei, ummm… would you take a look at this please?" The long black box Hinata had brought with her nearly a year ago she set in front of her teacher. He stopped and kneeled down in the dirt across from her, curiosity furrowing his brow. She undid the ties on the side and opened it.

Inside was a katana in its sheath almost five feet long resting on red velvet. The scabbard was painted black with the shapes of two dancing cranes surrounded by sakura flowers and reeds inlaid with silver. The red crowns of the birds stood out as the only color at all on it. The hand guard of the sword was rectangular with circles punched out at the corners and a row of smaller ones ran between the larger ones. The handle was a rich, dark brown wood that shimmered different hues in the sunlight and the crisscrossing black threads that formed diamonds across it for the grip were fraying from use.

Myuri picked it up out of its box and drew it halfway to inspect the blade's edge. "I didn't know the Hyuugas used swords."

Hinata looked at it with a sad reverence. "We don't. That was my mothers before she died and she was an orphan that had no clan. Her sensei was a sword user and he taught her everything."

Myuri sheathed it and inspected the handle next. "This blade was well made and used. Judging by the design it is well over forty years old. It was made for both battle purposes from the scratches on the blade and ceremonial from the dancing cranes on the scabbard." he informed her.

"Ano, sensei, I was wondering…could I use it?"

Myuri closed his eyes and scanned the blade from point to pommel, and stopped immediately at the middle of the handle. He drew his chakra back out immediately. _What was that?_ he wondered. "Go get the branch you cut yesterday and lay it alongside."

Hinata did as she was told.

"Push your chakra into both and tell me which flows easier."

She took the sword in her left and the branch in her right and eased chakra out of her hands. Miraculously, the branch had very little resistance to her chakra but the wood handle of her mother's sword slipped along, undeterred at all.

"And?"

"It's… wow. There's nothing holding it back at all. It's like… an extension of my arm, because it flows so freely." She stared dumbfounded at the handle in her left hand.

"There is no further need of this then." Myuri tapped the branch in Hinata's other hand. "We can use it for firewood." He stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants. "When you construct your handle from your Soul Blade over the next few days, use your mother's handle instead of making one from this wood. Let's separate the handle from the blade right now so we do not have to worry about it later. Once you are completely done making your sword, we can make a similar handle to replace it and honor your mother, if you would like."

Hinata bowed her head and stood. "I'd like that very much."

* * *

Before the sun emerged from the horizon the next morning, an anvil was on both sides of the fire pit and stacks and stacks of steel and wood were piled in the corners of the forge, ready to go. Naruto and Hinata needed no instruction or reminders on how to do it for they remembered perfectly how to construct it, and how to build a fire in the pit. They continued to tend to it carefully, leveling out the bed of coals and evening out the color so it was same all the way through while all three of their teachers looked on, ready to assist if needed.

They pumped a pair of bellows, sucking fresh air into the fire so it burned hotter, brighter. Occasionally, one of them would add more wood to keep it going and even out he coals again. They repeated this process until the bed burned a bright yellow that was nearly white. Using gloves so they wouldn't burn their fingers, Naruto spread out eight flat steel plates that were roughly ten inches long, four inches wide and an eighth inch thick in the pit and Hinata put an enormous thirty two plates on. Everyone was surprised at her choice of blade since there was only one type that required over eighteen plates of steel.

Once all the plates for their swords turned a bright orange on top, they flipped all the plates in their group so they would be heated evenly. As soon as they reached a nice yellow that was as bright as the coals they rested on, Naruto took his pieces and stacked them. He took four and welded them together into one large brick on the anvil and did the same with the other four pieces with a sledgehammer. Hinata did the same but welded ten into a long brick and the rest into another. Because she had less strength than her partner and more to do, it took her longer to perform this first step.

He then took the brick and placed them back in the fire pit and returned to tending the fire to keep the heat up. Hinata finished her roughly shaped bricks and placed them in the fire a few minutes before Naruto's turned the correct color and he took them back out again. As they waited together, Naruto commented, "This is a hell of a lot harder than I though it'd be."

Hinata agreed with a nod of her head. Her throat was already too dry to use from the intense heat, ashes and smoke.

Naruto put his first brick on the anvil, put his palms together as if he was praying and channeled a very light flow of chakra into the steel before him. As he flattened out the brick into a single bar and split it, he sustained the flow of chakra. This was the hardest part, all three of his teachers had said. From this point onward, whenever the steel was at least an orange color and until the blade was complete, he had to keep up this slow flow of chakra. He welded the two bars back into one then split it again and welded a second time. He then returned it to the fire because it wasn't hot enough for another folding and repeated the entire process on the other brick.

Hinata took her smaller brick and did the same folding process as well, slowly pushing chakra into her own steel. Again, since hers was larger, she only managed to get one fold in. The other brick was a bright yellow by then and she could only split it and half weld it before it cooled.

Naruto folded the first brick twelve times and the second a total of ten times. He then split both down the middle and took the less folded steel and formed the edge of both about six inches down from the end into a shallow U shape. He then welded those two pieces together, U-shape side facing inwards to create a skinny hole a little less than a half inch wide and a foot long. Then he took the end closest to the hole and formed a very general shaped peak with it. He then took the other two bars out of the fire and welded them to either side of the larger piece and began to hammer them into another rough shape: a sword.

Meanwhile, Hinata had almost finished folding her bars, ten times for the smaller and nine for the larger. Next she split a piece of steel about four inches long off of the end of the smaller bar. She tossed that one back into the fire to keep hot for later use. She took the larger bar out of the fire and hammered it out into a sheet about six and a half feet long that narrowed at one end. She put that back in the fire and took the smaller bar out and hammered that one out into a bar five and a half feet long. Hinata welded the smaller to the side of the larger and then took the small piece she had cut before out. She cut about an inch off and welded that at and angle at the top of the point and took the last spare piece of steel and welded two inches to the other side of the blade so she had about an inch of it sticking it out.

Naruto had long since formed his blade and was finishing up making the edges thin so they could easily be ground to a sharp edge. Now he needed to let it cool before he ground them, so first he rested, had a brief meal and drink and was back in.

He wanted to help Hinata somehow, but he really couldn't, since blade-making was a one person job. So instead he tended the fire, bringing the heat back up since the lack of attention had brought it down.

Hinata did the same thing, sharpening her large edge, the shorter edge on the other side and the odd angled edge in the middle. She did the same that Naruto did, reviving her energy with some food and water, but she sat and rested, head against the wall for a few minutes instead of helping him.

Naruto's blade was done cooling first, so he took it to the grinding wheels in the corner and ground the edges so they were sharp enough to cut skin but not enough to cut other steel. He also smoothed out the surface, removing hammer marks and other impurities in the steel that might have showed up. Next he put it back in the fire and got it to its hottest, over 1550 degrees Fahrenheit. He continued to cultivate the fire and keep it up, and Naruto never let his flow of chakra to the blade falter.

Hinata used files in addition to the grinding wheels because she had a tight spot where those wheels couldn't get on her blade.

They took turns keeping the fire hot while they heated and then cooled their blades four times to relax the stresses that had built up in the steel from the folding and grinding. Once, in between shifts, Hinata fell asleep against the wall because she was so tired.

Finally, once all of that was done, they both covered their blades with a layer of clay, very thin on the cutting edges and much thicker on the spines. They heated their blades again and quenched them in a trough of brine water. They had to leap backwards to avoid the hot steam and spitting water as the hot metal quickly cooled. Hinata repeated this process one more time since her blade type required it.

As she did this, Naruto had already begun to polish and refine the edges of his blade with polishing stones, files and grinding wheels. Hinata joined him almost and hour later with hers and they polished them until the steel grew completely cold.

The blade slipped out of her hands and cut her palm. It clanged to the floor loudly and Hinata just then realized how completely exhausted she was.

"Hinata-chan, you alright?" The grinding of Naruto's file stopped and he looked her wildly, hoping nothing bad had happened to her.

"Yea everything is alright, nothing is wrong." she lied cheerfully. She winced as she tried to pick up her blade without him seeing her bloody palm.

He quickly put his project down and grabbed her hand. "You're bleeding. Badly." he accused.

Hinata was surprised by his sudden contact and jerked her hand away to hold it in her other. "Ano, I'll just go upstairs and bandage it." She swayed suddenly from fatigue but grabbed the edge of a nearby stool, which happened to be Naruto's.

"Hinata!?"

"Look, she's just tired and so are you, boy." Uesugi got up from his place where he leaned against the wall and walked over to them. He now had watch duty since all the other elders were upstairs. "Come on, go upstairs and get some sleep. It usually takes about a week or two to finish the blade after the initial forging anyways so there's no rush to finish it now."

* * *

Tsunade put down the paper she was reviewing. "Your mission success rate is low for action missions, but high for diplomatic ones." She studied the girl in front of her. _Poor girl, she's been a workaholic since both Naruto and Sasuke left. I don't know if she's punishing herself or what for what she said to Naruto, but I would have punished her a bit if she didn't do it herself._

Sakura bowed, her long hair obscuring her face. "Hai Hokage-sama."

"And since you have achieved the rank of Chuunin, I am assigning you to a two year mission of being the new ambassador to Suna. Our current one is a stuck up bastard whom I thought could help repair our ties with them but he turned out to be a failure who desecrated our image over there. Thankfully his term is about to expire.

"You are to stay in Suna in the ambassador's headquarters for those two years with occasional visits back here when you like. You are to leave the day after tomorrow and arrive in Suna by this time next week. I will have someone guide you there."

Six days later after an uneventful trip, Sakura and her male guard arrived at the cliff-gates of The Village Hidden in the Sand. A small sandstorm had been whipped up just when they saw the tops of the cliffs on the horizon.

That swirling sand reminded Sakura of a faint memory of a red-haired boy with the ability to control sand. She realized that this place she was now going to live in for the next ten years was going to be home. Well, at least she knew one person in this village. Things wouldn't be so bad.

Another man met them at the base of the cliff. He had a cloth draped around his head and his Suna hitai-te held it in place. He wore the standard Suna Chuunin uniform.

"You are Haruno Sakura, if I am not mistaken." He said politely.

She nodded in return.

"Kazekage-sama has assigned me to lead you to your quarters and then present you to him." he looked at the guide from Konoha. "We have also prepared a room for you to stay in for the night but you have to leave in the morning."

The man bowed. "I understand."

It turned out that the Konoha Embassy office wasn't far from the Kazekage tower, just a block away. Sakura's room was two floors above the main office. The Suna guide led her there, where she dropped off her bags and followed him to the Kazekage's building.

"When you see Kazekage-sama, give him a deep bow then shake his hand, tell him it was an honor to meet him, say 'I have Konohagakure's and Sunagakure's best interests at heart and that I hope I can get the villages to cooperate better in the future.'" The guide instructed as the climbed the stairs. "It is of utmost importance that you don't mess up because that sets a precedent for future mistakes."

He knocked twice on a large door that proclaimed it to be the office if the Kazekage. "Kazekage-sama, I have brought the new ambassador. May we come in?"

"Yes, come in." a muted voice said from the other side.

The door opened and sakura saw a red mess of hair on top of a tall man dressed in black and maroon robes and a gray one-shoulder vest. He stood behind a large tan desk but faced outwards, towards the windows. He turned to face them and Sakura's breath hitched.

A single name escaped her lips.

"Gaara!?"

* * *

Naruto looked at his handiwork, clearly pleased. His Soul Blade was straight, like a Jian style sword and a total of four feet long, one for the handle and three for the blade. Six inches down from the tip, there was a skinny hole around half an inch wide and a foot long. He didn't know what had prompted him to put it there but now that he though about it, if he mastered his blade well enough, he could catch other weapons in it and then be able to wrench them away from their owners or use it against them. The pommel though, was the part he treasured the most. Two five-tailed Kitsune climbed the sides of it, wrought in an orange tinted gold. He stabbed a foe directly in front of him then twirled around and slashed an enemy on his side.

Hinata was nearby and sitting cross-legged in the dirt had her sword across her knees. Rather than admiring her crush flaunt and experiment with his sword, she admired her huge blade, the whole thing a grand total of six and a half feet long. It curved like a katana, but the tip was completely different. It had one edge and two prongs at the end. The spine of the blade near the shorter prong had a cutting edge on it and a third edge was a combination of the edges of the prongs coming together. "An impressive Tsuguri style sword." Uesugi had said when she was polishing the Blade. He had then laughed. "Little girl, are you sure you'll be able to hold it?" Hinata remembered that she had proceeded to tease him about having a girly sword since his was so skinny and light. She ran a finger down the middle of it, amazed that she had made something so huge and lethal looking. It would require two hands to wield nearly all the time unless she was throwing it or slashing right across a line of opponents, but she didn't dwell too munch on that fact.

"Enjoying yourselves?" Myuri appeared on Hinata's right, starling her.

"Damn this thing is cool. I can't believe I made it." Naruto stopped practicing to examine his word in awe.

"That 'thing' is your Soul Blade so you must call it as such. Speaking of which, you both still need to name your Soul Blades and etch them. Creating a scabbard is optional. Yours is the right size and shape for one Naruto but I'm not so sure about yours Hinata." He laughed lightly. "It's almost as big as mine."

Both students went back to their previous activities when Myuri's voice took a harder edge. "Alright, I know you are fascinated but we must do this before the day gets any older. Come down into the forge."

They followed him reluctantly to the basement.

"So, when you think of your name, what word other than your name pops into your head?" Myuri asked.

"Sun." blurted out Hinata.

"Fox." whispered Naruto.

"You will etch that word onto your Soul Blade in Kanji as well as a spiral and the Uzumaki name in Katakana." He picked up his blade from where it lay across the forge's fire pit and pointed to the spiral on his and the words written in the Old Language of Katakana, Hiranga and Kanji.

He ten instructed his students on how exactly to etch the names using chakra, a chisel and a hammer.

The heated the swords so the area they would etch turned a dark orange. Using the speed and strength they had obtained through training, each took a chisel and a hammer and gently carved a spiral into one side of the blade. The heated and etched, heated and etched until they had a fully formed spiral on either side of the blades. They used the same method to put he names on either side too, Uzumaki towards the handle and their word toward the point.

Lastly, they heated it one more time and using chakra, smoothed out the rough edges of the letters and spiral.

"Very nice." approved Myuri when he inspected their final work. He guided them upstairs to dinner. "Let's start the real training tomorrow. It's much more enjoyable when you use the real thing."

His tone had both students worried about the tortures to come. Steel was definitely much, _much _heavier than wood.

* * *

**A/N: Was it worth the wait? I hope it was. =/ This was a bity of a technical chapter, so nothing reeeeally exciting. Anyways, things begin to pick up a bit more next chapter**.

**IBP**

**Next Chapter: Another year passes and it it time to go to Michinaga for Demon Training. Unfortunatly, things don't always go as planned.**


	18. Hope to Love, Love to Hope

**A/N: Taaadaaaa! It lives!! And it didn't take as long as I should have!! Yaaaay!!  
**

**For all you NaruHina fluff lovers out there, there's alot of that in here :P Actually, I think I put a bit too much in...-sweatdrop-**

**Oh, I created a new Deviantart page that has the same name as this one ^-^ I put up alooot more stuff on it, like concept art for this, INCLUDING THE ACUTAL SKETCHES OF NARUTO AND HINATA'S SWORDS SO YOU WILL NOW SEE WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE. Have fun browsing. You can find the link on my author's page.**

**You all are going to yell at me for the ending, but I think its worth it :D  
**

* * *

**Chapter 18 - ****Hope to Love, Love to Hope**

A year had passed since she had arrived in this desert city. Things had changed and not just with her.

She, as Tsunade had assigned her to do, had to worked hard to repair the relationship between Suna and Konoha. It was hard work but it felt like it was worth it to her. The reason wasn't because Sakura like working hard from dawn until dusk but it was more or less because she got to work alongside Gaara.

Sakura got a strange sense of security around the boy. He was fifteen, very young for a Kage and probably the youngest one yet. And what was the oddest thing of all was that he was a Jinjuuriki, usually the person most hated and feared in the village. Many people, she had heard, had rioted when he took office, claiming that he would order everyone to be killed because they thought him to be his same, psychotic self. Apparently, this had all happened right after he had left Konoha.

They had all calmed down since. They had come to accept him, and that he wouldn't murder them all in their sleep. Some had gone so far that they admitted liked him now but also admitted that they had misjudged him before. Among teenage girls, he had gained a bit of a rock star status, like he was something to be desired. Always, when he went on his weekly walk with sakura, they heard girls calling out, even kunochi and girls older then either of them, "Gaara-kun, I love you!" or "Leave her and marry me Gaara!"

Once, one girl had approached them and began to scream at Sakura about how she was a 'lucky, spoiled, pink haired whore' and she challenged her to a fight right then and there. The girl was a cocky Genin with barely a half year's experience compared to Sakura, a Chuunin with almost three years experience. In short, sakura carved the girl's face into the dirt and proceeded to take the girl to the hospital. No one had dared approach them after that incident.

Those walks were just like the one they had taken all those years ago in Konoha, except that now they talked. They talked about everything under the sun, from politics to movies, even touching on gardening once she had remembered. One topic they had skirted dangerously quite a few times was Gaara's past. He had made it clear by how his tone darkened that it was a painful time that he wouldn't want to revisit anytime soon.

It was that one thing that Sakura wished he would open up to her about above all others. He was still that same enigma without knowing that, despite their vast knowledge about one another. It was like she had all the puzzle pieces of him except for that one key piece that was still missing. It bothered her because she wanted to know all of him and badly. Why?

She had no idea herself.

And Gaara, well… He was in agony over her.

He still thought himself as a monster around her. He wished that he could get away from her, not for his sake but for hers. He felt he didn't deserve this time with her.

He thought himself not strong enough to keep their relationship strictly professional, and that was why he walked with her. Why he didn't talk with her about his childhood; yes, it is painful and it brought up bad memories, but the real reason is that he didn't want her to know…to know he had killed hundreds of people in cold blood. If she knew about that she would probably be disgusted or frightened enough to stop talking to him on a personal level. Or maybe, if she couldn't deal with seeing him and knowing what he did even during the monthly ambassador- Kazekage meetings, she would resign and he would never see her again. Gaara knew he could never, ever deal with that.

He admitted to himself he would never want her to leave, not for any reason, whether it is big or small. He craved her company too much. Maybe it was because she was the only person he knew that treated him normally, not as a Kage, not as a Jinjuuriki, not as a prodigy or one who deserved any sort of special treatment. Or was it the smile? Or the laugh? Or maybe it was the feeling of openness when with her?

He was broken over her, the jagged edges hurting much more than they ever should be.

* * *

_Stroke...Stroke…Purr…Purr…Meow…Cuddle…Cuddle._

_Hinata didn't know how long she had been doing this. The cat in her arms just didn't want to stop being petted. It was a gray shorthair cat with unnaturally long ears, yellow eyes and a faded red collar. It apparently loved affection because it would paw at her hand or face every time she stopped petting it and meow softly._

_Before this, Hinata had never seen this cat before but she felt like she had known it all her life. It was quite an odd sensation. _

"_Hey, Hinata-chan."_

_The familiar voice of Naruto came from the doorway that was on the left. The cat tensed in her arms but Hinata paid no attention as she turned to smile at him._

_Hinata was shocked temporarily when she saw her crush transformed halfway into the Kyuubi, but it wore off quickly. He had the blood red, slitted eyes, the wide whisker marks, the claws and fangs and moreover, he was dressed in his old orange jumpsuit. He smiled at her, though not in a menacing way. It seemed warm but she wasn't sure how he managed that with a mouth full of sharp pointy teeth._

_He took a single step towards her and the odd and somewhat pleasant dream turned into a nightmare._

_Several things happened in a matter of seconds. Hinata saw that the cat in her arms leapt out and morphed into an enormous cat demon with swirling black and electric blue fur. Naruto transformed into the one tailed Kitsune cloak she had once seen him use during their tests and when he had saved her in the village._

_The demons turned to each other and began to exchange furious clawed blows that tore the room apart. Roars of fury and pain came from both equally. Naruto landed a swipe on the cat's muzzle and a few on its arms, chest and shoulders. The cloak protected him from most of the attacks but one came through and almost completely shredded his left quad muscle._

_A stream of curses flew from his mouth and was followed with these words: "she's mine, you son of a bitch! You can't take her from me!"_

_Surprisingly, though the cat's mouth did not move, an echoing female voice answered._

_**I am a part of her and she of me. If you separate us, we die.**_

"_No way." Naruto shook his head violently. "No way no way NO WAY!" he launched himself at his opponent and began to tear her apart. "You're LYING!"_

Hinata woke, startled out of her dream by its ferocity. Never had she woken sweaty from a dream, but there was always a first for everything. This was another first for her.

The cat had spoken.

She had been having these demonic cat dreams on and off for over two years now, ever since she had left Konoha to train with Naruto. Never had the cat made any sound other than a growl or roar.

What had it meant that it was a part of her? She had no seal on her body that marked that she had a demon sealed within her. Maybe the cat was a spirit that liked to play tricks on her.

Hinata shook her head. The idea of both of those theories was insane. She had no reason or proof that either of those things was true.

She laid back down on her futon and closed her eyes, but sleep wouldn't come that easily. So instead, she lit a candle and got out one of her favorite tattered paperback books that she had read countless times and began to read.

* * *

"Smooth it more. Concentrate." Hinata sucked Chakra out of the core of her sword and pushed it towards the edges. Water began to condense along the bladed edge which really wasn't that hard in the humid summer air. Soon, she had a layer about a quarter inch thick and wide. The effort left her sweating from the energy and chakra control needed. She scrunched her brows together and the water edge slowly turned from a smooth curve to jagged curve with teeth.

"Hold it. Hold it." Hinata muttered through her teeth to herself as she gripped her sword tighter. With her control held in check, she began to perform the first kata. Her concentration broke when she momentarily lost her balance from her six foot blade's momentum. That was all it took for the carefully crafted water edge to splash to the ground.

"That was longer than last time. You're getting it but you still have a long way to go before you get where you're supposed to be when we go to Michinaga." Izumi noted from the side.

"I know, I know. And there's only a month before we go." Hinata swung her blade up onto her shoulder and walked over to the bench underneath the tree where two glasses of water waited. The water was warm from being out all morning but it soothed her parched throat. She sat down on the bench and Izumi did likewise next to her. Hinata looked down. "I just don't get how I'm going to learn all that by then."

Izumi looked at her student. "You worry too much. Molding chakra through your Soul Blade is the hardest part to master. Once you get this down pat, everything else will fall into place."

Hinata glanced sideways at her sensei. "I hope so. I really hope so."

* * *

"Ano, Naruto-kun, what do you think our new teacher will be like?" Hinata didn't take her eyes off the book she was reading. "I mean, there's only a week left before we leave so…" She recrossed her ankles in the air since she was laying on her stomach on her futon.

His brush paused over the scroll next to her. "What did Izumi-baa-chan say about him?" He resumed creating a simple seal to hold the wooden sword on the floor in front of him. He had acquired a preference to stay in Hinata's room and keep her company before she went to sleep. Naturally, she didn't mind this at all. "Something about being older than all our ages combined, which I find hard to believe." He shrugged. "He's an old geezer I guess. If Myuri is anything to judge by, he's probably a strict guy. They all get crabbier as they get older." he said with a snort as he put the wood practice sword on the completed seal.

"Yeah, but the way she had talked about him, it was like she didn't know what to say herself." Hinata laughed. "Ha, you think we have a crush on our hands?"

He mock gagged, making her giggle again. "Oh dear god I hope not. My grandma with some ancient guy? That'd be disgusting." Naruto shook his head as he formed a hand sign and muttered "Sealing Technique: Simple Blade." The wood sword disappeared with a puff of smoke and the kanji for 'sword' appeared in the center of the seal.

"You're getting better at that." Hinata nodded at the scroll.

"You're one to talk. You still can't seal your Soul Blade properly." he jeered.

"Hey, I can seal a rock its same weight just fine." she retorted. "I'll be fine when we go. I just need a bit more…training, dattebayo." She threw in that last part to try and set him off.

It worked; he twitched. "Careful what you say little girl." He spoke the playful demon voice he used when imitating the Kyuubi. "It might get you in…trouble!" Naruto tackled her on that last word.

If anybody other than those four Uzumaki elders lived in that mansion, they might have thought that Hinata's answering scream of delight was her last breath.

* * *

"Huh. Two years. Huh." Naruto looked over the "ruins" of his home for the past two years. He wasn't talking about that; he was speaking about how he wouldn't be here for the next two.

"Come on." Hinata tugged on his wrist. She still didn't have enough courage to touch his hand. "We got to go."

He turned away and flashed a quick smile. He couldn't help but feel happy when she was around. Even the fact that they would be taught by a complete stranger that he wasn't related to didn't faze him as long as she was with him.

They followed Izumi for two days to get to the southern border of Fire Country. Naruto and Hinata didn't worry about being recognized in their home country; His shaggy blond hair, her long hair that reached the middle of her back and their plain clothes kept their anonymity.

Three days later, they checked into a motel in Wind country just below the northern border.

"This is strangely relaxing." Hinata dropped her pack against the far wall of the room up on the second floor. She brought her arms above her head and stretched to get rid of the mild shoulder cramp she had.

"What is?" Naruto's pack hit the floor with a _thump_ and he sat on the bed.

She sat next to him. "All this traveling, we haven't done it in forever." She laid on back.

He copied her and grinned like an idiot. He turned to look at her, even if she wasn't looking at him. "Yeah…" he mumbled absentmindedly, lost in her face.

Hinata, despite her calm composition, was freaking out with thoughts of rainstorms, love confessions, beds and – _Shut up brain. I don't need this right now!_ She shook her head.

He looked at her worriedly. "What is it?"

"Nothing." The reply was automatic. "Just thinking."

Izumi came out from the bathroom where she was watching their moment. "I'm in the mood for going out for dinner. Anyone want to join me?"

Naruto was on his feet in an instant. "Can we get ramen?! Plea-"

Izumi's hand shot up, silencing him. "We can have ramen…" She paused to add effect. "When we are done with dinner."

His disappointment was more endearing than saddening and both women laughed.

"Come on, let's go. There's this really good shabusen restaurant I know of here."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "The kind where you cook the meat in front of you?"

"Exactly." She left the room.

The restaurant was only a five minute walk away. It was a loud, homey place, obviously a staple business of the local community. The hostess seated them and the menu lost Naruto's attention after about a minute. He scanned the crowd with disinterest since he was still a bit put out about having to wait for his precious ramen baby.

Suddenly, two faces struck familiar, long lost chords with him. He didn't know where he had seen them before, he just knew he had.

They sat in a booth across the room, both very young and about his age. One was a man and the other a woman, but he was facing away so he couldn't make out anymore details.

When they finally ordered and the beef came, it was excellent. Perfect and tender to the right amount, or was it the spices? Either way, all three enjoyed themselves like any other family.

His curiosity got the better of him and he did have to use the bathroom, so he used hat as an excuse to leave the table. Naruto did his business and took a different route back that would take him by the people in question.

He saw the guy wasn't there as he approached. _He must have slipped by. _The girl was though. She had long dark brown hair the color of chestnut and wore a light green yukata. She had a very pretty face – _But not as pretty as Hina-chan_. Why was it so familiar?

"Na…Naruto?"

He froze.

It was that voice. Now he knew.

"Haku?! Wha-what-wha-what are you doing here?!"

"I was just about to ask you that."

"W-…I-…Ho-"

Words did not seem to come to him coherently, so she cut in. "Sasuke and I are traveling together for a while."

"Nani?! Sasuke?!" He barely kept his voice under control. "Was that him before?"

"Hai."

"Why are you traveling? Since when? What are you doing?" Something stuck him as odd. "How are you alive?" he accused. "I saw you die."

Haku's expression changed from one of being pleasantly surprised to grave. It made her look much, much older. After a moment, she spoke.

"Let's just say it involved a deal with someone that I wish I had never agreed to." She glanced behind him. "Your friends are getting a bit anxious. Go."

"But what about Sasuke?" he asked urgently. "Where is he?"

"He had to… step out."

Naruto stood there, not wanting to leave.

"Go."

Unwillingly, his feet brought him back to his own table, using his years of experience he put on a well worn mask of happiness.

As soon as he sat down next to her, Hinata leaned in and whispered in his ear "Tell me what happened later."

She saw through him too well.

They paid and left ten minutes later with still no sighting of Sasuke. With all thoughts of ramen gone, Naruto held, more like clutched her hand as they walked. The encounter had shaken him and he needed to know his solace was there. Occasionally, he sent her a slightly wild look and her face didn't hide that she was worried about what had gotten to him so badly.

Back at the hotel, Izumi had conveniently gone to relax in the baths. Taking advantage of this new freedom, Hinata started with a single sentence.

"Can you tell me now?"

Naruto took a deep breath. After taking a moment to take his shoes off, he began slowly. "I…met someone at the restaurant." He rummaged around in his pack, looking or his pajamas. "Someone I haven't seen in a long time."

"Naruto-kun, we haven't seen a lot of people for a long time."

He pulled off his top and began to put on his t-shirt that he slept in. "I know. But this person I saw, _I had seen her die._"

"What?"

"Yeah that's the confusing and slightly disturbing part. It was back, way, way back about a month after we had graduated." Naruto began. He continued to explain about the mission scandal, Zabuza and the times he fought him and his partner, Haku.

"When I fought her and released the Kyuubi for the first time on the bridge, I defeated her but I didn't kill her. Kakashi-sensei did that. He shoved a Chidori straight through her chest when she was trying to protect Zabuza. A blow like that would kill anyone instantly." He sighed. "It only adds to the mystery. I mean, you would be surprised too, right?" he looked down at the floor from where he sat cross-legged on the bed.

Hinata got up from the opposite bed and kneeled on the floor in front of him. She folded her arms on the edge of hi bed and rested her head on them.

Naruto felt himself drawn to her eye and was surprised at how caring they were. Her head was cocked to one side in the slightest way and a corner of her mouth was lifted in a smile. For a second, all he could think about was how adorable she looked.

"You're too troubled by this right now, Naruto-kun." As she scolded him, her head bobbed up and down in the cutest way, making him smile a bit. "Things just are sometimes. She might just be able to survive a death blow, that's all. Here, let's talk about something light. Actually," she began as she got up and sat identically like he was next to him, "I've been curious about the Kyuubi. Could you…" She looked down at the generic pattern on the bed sheet as she searched for the right words. "Could you…show me the Kyuubi? Just for a little bit? I didn't get a good look at him two years ago." She glanced up at him nervously. It looked like some of the old Hinata still remained in her.

He laughed. "You call that light?" Naruto reached over and tousled her long hair. He smiled. "Anything for you, Hina-chan."

The tone, devotion and his words caught her off guard for a moment, until he put his palms together and concentrated within him. Soon, orange chakra began to seep out of him and encase his whole body as it morphed his face, eyes, hands and feet. Hinata looked on with awe and wonder.

"Man, this feels good. I haven't done this in ages." His voice had changed to a deeper, more feral tone.

Hinata reached out slowly and then paused, unsure if this was the right thing to do. Something ancient, animalistic, awoke inside her from looking at the demon chakra swirling around him. Her hand began to shake.

Naruto guessed it was because she was afraid but he remained calm about hat. "Don't be afraid. I've got him under control." He murmured and leaned in slowly.

The second her outstretched hand touched the chakra, several things happened in a chain reaction.

From where her fingertips touched, a fire like no other ripped though the veins in Hinata's arm and into her stomach. Her eyes snapped open and her body locked up before she could shriek with the immense pain. A large blue blast of pure energy came from her body, shattering the windows. It drove a large crack up the wall and even knocked Kyuubi-Naruto over.

Hinata collapsed, motionless.

* * *

Gaara's pen stopped. "Wha… what was that?"

* * *

Hidan's head snapped southward.

Kakazu looked at his partner. "What is it?"

It was a moment before he answered. "We're leaving. Now."

* * *

Naruto froze there, shocked for a moment with the Kyuubi's chakra still swirling around him. He recovered in a second and bent over her. Her eyes were wide and focused somewhere far away. "Hina-chan? Hinata?" he said louder than normal. "Can you hear me?" he shook her shoulder.

She didn't respond.

He shook her more violently. "Hinata?! Hinata!"

Still no response.

He pressed an ear to her chest. The steady _thump thump thump_ of her heart was there, but it was slowing. "No." He began to tremble and breathe heavily. "No." He shook his head in disbelief. "No." He checked her heart again. It was still beating, still slowing down.

He grabbed his hair. "I didn't kill her. I didn't. There's no way I could have." His breath came irregularly now.

Still too stunned to move his legs or move at all for that matter, he rested his head on her stomach.

Izumi came in a bit later. "You guys should have come with me." she said as she closed the door behind her. "The baths here are really-" She cut off when she saw Naruto. "Ano? What happened here? What's going on?"

Naruto heaved himself up, slowly and shaking. His eyes remained glued to Hinata's face. "I-I dunno. I-I just showed her the Kyuubi then she touched the demon chakra and the window broke and now she's frozen like this." He didn't want to believe she was dead, nor even suggest it. "I tried waking her up but nothing works."

Izumi was changing back into her traveling clothes in the bathroom in a flash. "Change and pack up all your stuff and hers. We're going to the nearest hospital."

He moved sluggishly at first but he picked up speed and he frantically packed.

**Don't. Go to the Demon Sage. He can help.**

Naruto froze with his pajamas in hand at the Kyuubi's sudden input.

_You sure?_

**Don't argue. I know.**

"Izumi-baa-chan, um, the Kyuubi says we should keep going to the Demon Sage."

She stopped. "What?"

"He says we can help. I believe him."

Izumi paused for a short moment, thinking it over. "Okay, we'll do it his way. You said the window is broken?"

"Uh, yeah… Why?"

"I'm going downstairs to check out and pay for damages. Throw the packs and wait below the window with Hinata for me."

He did so. Waiting for a minute seemed like an eternity to him. He had Hinata's pack strapped to his front and her on his back. Izumi appraised him when she returned, her eyes full of doubt. "Are you sure you can carry both her and her things while running? You may-"

"I will carry her." he said fiercely. "And I don't want to stop until we're there…" His voice broke on the last word. The last part, _even if it kills me_, was left unsaid.

She understood his determination, put his pack on her front and her own on her back and needing no other instruction, lead Naruto over the rooftops and out of the town.

The tears held back by the shock of the situation began to flow freely now as he ran though the night.

_Hinata-chan, if there's one thing I promise I will do for you, it's that I will save your life, even if it costs me my own.

* * *

_**A/N: Hate me, love me, doesn't matter as long as you like the story XP**

**Before you get all 'WHAT THE HELL!? HAKU AND SASUKE!?!" remember that they are travelling. This was only a meeting of chance.  
**

**Remember to go to my DA page! Sketches and stuff there! You can also find the link there on my author's page.**

**I loves you all! ^-^**

**  
-IBP-**

**Next Chapter: Two world shattering things happen to Naruto. What might they be?**


	19. Just Like You

**A/N: Ehmahgawd, lateness. It's something I can't really get over. Mostly becasue I've been frantically trying to get my grades up to acceptable levels. Which would be all A's and B's. Which are my parent's standards. **

**On the bright side of things, I FINALLY WROTE THIS CHAPTER!!! I HAVE BEEN PLANNING THIS MOMENT SINCE NEARLY THE MOMENT I STARTED WRITING THIS STORY. OMGZORZYAY. **

**I uploaded on my DeviantArt account the scene in chapter 16 when Naruto wakes up and finds Hinata sleeping on him, all colored and whatnot :3 Take a quick glance, if you please. I've also been drawing other things like Ouran High School Host Club and Deathnote and I read the entirety of both series since I finished the last chapter ( XD ) so if you check my DA account soon, there shall be more stuffs there later.  
**

**NARUTO CHAPTER 437-438 SPOILER RANT AT BOTTOM SO BEWARE :D**

**Oh, and Manu, I never even thought about going that far into Haku's past. That's really cool, actually. So sure, I'll use it as Haku's background story when the time comes :)**

**Read, review and enjoy!! ^-^  
**

* * *

**Chapter 19 – Just Like You**

Numbness.

Darkness.

That was all she felt at first.

Slowing…drifting…

The blackness of her eyes stayed. She didn't know for how long.

But at one point, it started to fade. Slowly. Graying.

And then she could hear. A sound, Dripping of water into a puddle; Drip…drip….drip… it was the only thing that marked the passage of time.

She really didn't open her eyes. Things more or less came into focus steadily. Another endless moment passed. She could see.

It was a dark yellow-gray, wherever she was. Those were…rocks, yes, rocks. Large ones…so big that they formed walls! There were other ones too. Cone shaped. Dripping with water? Water… Ah!

A cave. She was in a cave.

It was so dark. She didn't know any fire Justus, so there was no light. Byakugan was a good substitute though.

She tried to bring the chakra up to her eyes but found that she couldn't. She tried harder…and harder. So hard she thought she might pop a vein. And then…

An intense pain radiated outward through her whole body from her stomach. Her knees buckled and she crumpled to the floor. It was another moment before she could move again.

Hinata felt her way down through the cave. It slanted downward and branched off in a few places, but she just went straight, just to be safe. A few times she thought she heard a far-off growl.

The tunnel continued on and on, going deeper and deeper. She thought it would never end.

Maybe this was one of those nightmares. But why couldn't she wake up?

Suddenly, there was a faint glow up ahead. Eagerly, she walked faster in a straight line without the cave wall's guidance, which somehow fell away.

The dripping sound continued on from all around her as walked through the cave. All to quickly she noticed that she now stood in almost knee deep water.

The glow came from two eyes. Two large, yellow eyes with slits full of scrutiny looking down upon her.

A deep growl echoed. It came from the direction of the eyes.

Hinata was too scared to speak.

"Finally…" The word, voiced by a feminine voice, hung in the air.

"Don't look at me like that."

Hinata continued to stare.

"Don't you know who I am?"

She tried to shake her head but the movement came out small and jerky.

The eyes grew brighter and gave off more light. Hinata saw blue and black fur emerge in the faint light and a muzzle, nose, a set of ears, paws and the rest of the front half of a giant cat. It was all behind a gate that had a paper that had the word "seal" written on it in the Old Language as the thing that kept the bars together.

"And now?"

Only one thing she had ever known had the same description, but was from the mind of another.

"Are y-you one of the N-Nine Bijuu?"

"Correct. I am the second of the Nine. The Niibi, the Two-Tailed Demon Cat, Queen of all cat spirits and cat demons to name a few."

"Why am I here with you? Where is this place anyways?"

"'When the one breathes his first breath, he shall turn his stone brethren to life as well.' Do you know what this means, kitten?"

"N-no-"

"It means that because of the Kyuubi, I am no longer completely sealed within you. His chakra weakened the seal-" She stopped short at Hinata's horrified expression. "You did not know I was sealed inside you?"

The girl's eyes were focused somewhere far away.

"Didn't your father ever tell you?"

"H-he never m-mention-ned o-or anyth-thing about you."

"I was roaming the forests of the thunder land when I happened upon a caravan of white-eyes people like yourself. They attacked me and then the next thing I remember, I was locked inside this cave inside you."

"Th-that must have been wh-when uncle Hizashi…" The thought was left incomplete.

"It was enjoyable watching you grow up and even more within these past few years. I must say, I'm impressed. Someone who has been put down so much and failed would have usually given up on life."

Silence followed and lasted while Hinata thought.

"A-are you sure this isn't one of those dreams again? Finding this out is…really…_surreal_."

The cat roared so loud that Hinata thought her eardrums would burst and the cave would collapse on top of her. "If you haven't woken up from that," the cat explained "then I would say that this is quite real."

* * *

He ran and ran. He wouldn't stop. His need for her to live was insatiable.

He grew impatient when Izumi told him to rest for an hour before moving on. As they continued, he argued that down to a half hour. He held her inanimate body in his arms for much of that time, whispering promises in her ear that he swore to uphold. He believed she could hear him and he wouldn't believe she was gone. He held onto the fact her body was still slightly warm and her heart beat at just over ten times a minute.

"She's mine." Naruto muttered to the sky. "I won't let you have her." In truth, he had no idea what he would do with himself if she died because it would be his fault. He didn't know how to think, to act if she wasn't there with him for the rest of his life. She was the glue that held him together.

It crossed his mind once or twice as to why he felt this odd way about her. It was unsettling. He wanted to hug her and kiss her all over when she came out of her state and apologize for doing this to her. He wanted to hold on and never let go.

He twined his hand with hers and nuzzled her neck. Oh how it felt so wrong but still so right. He squeezed._ Everything will be alright. I promise._

When they stopped again at the two Oni guards the next morning at daybreak, Naruto didn't argue when Izumi told him to slow, nor did he flinch when he saw their massiveness. He merely looked them in the eye with all the ferocity of a tiger whose young were threatened. They in turn, sensed the Kyuubi's chakra within him and let them pass without Izumi reciting the password poem.

"Ah! Izumi-chan! Naruto-kun! Hinata-chan! You're finally here! What took you so long?" A young man, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, ran alongside the pair. He looked Naruto up and down, and then to the girl he carried on his back. A spark flared in his eyes but he said nothing. He kept silent after his entrance too when he noticed Naruto's determined expression and the tension in the air.

It took another ten minutes to get to the cottage on the mountain. "Here, give her to me." Michinaga said once they had arrived. "I know what to do." Naruto unwillingly gave Hinata to him. "Wait outside until I'm done. Do not, I repeat, do not come in until I say so." His eyes followed her blank face to the cottage until it disappeared behind the sliding door.

Naruto took her pack of his front, sat on the porch and hugged it to his chest. Almost immediately, he fell asleep and he welcomed the blackness with the knowledge that his girl was in trustworthy hands.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

After what seemed like a split second, a hand peeled that black away by shaking him. "Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun. Hey." He looked up into someone's face, bleary-eyed. "She's going to be alright. She'll live."

It felt like the bottom of his stomach had dropped out, and the black nearly completely consumed him again.

"You know Izumi-chan, your family never ceases to amaze me."

"Un, what?"

"You brought me two Jinjuuriki to teach, not one!"

Silence.

"What?" the voice responded weakly.

"Ah, you didn't know? She's the container of the two-tailed Bijuu, the Niibi Demon Cat."

That tore the blanket completely away. His back snapped straight. Two pairs of eyes looked in his direction.

"Is that…true? Sage-sensei?"

Michinaga's eyes seemed to sparkle. "Yes. I figured as much when I first saw you carrying her that she herself housed a demon. She had gone into shock then a coma when your Kyuubi's chakra touched her seal and weakened it. Once she wakes up, she will be able to use its power, just like you."

…Just like you.

Just like me.

_Just like me._

…

_I've found someone who I love that is just like me._

"C-can I see her?"

"Yes. Just don't wake her up. She's sleeping."

Naruto slowly but awkwardly went inside the cottage. Hinata laid there tucked inside a futon, sleeping peacefully. She never looked so delicate, so breakable, so beautiful, as she did now.

_The one I love._

_Who is just like me..._

He sat against the wall and let the blanket swallow him again, her face the last thing he saw.

_I'm in love with her.

* * *

  
_

"Ah? What's this?" The yellow cat eyes narrowed.

"What?" Hinata looked up curiously.

"Can you feel it?

"Feel what?"

"I guess you are still numb to your body's condition." The Niibi's voice was fading now, more muted. "Kyuubi-kun's chakra is being drawn out of you."

"Oh… What's going to happen then? To you?"

"I will still be in you until the day that you die. You just have to look inside yourself until you find my cage." It had a normal, human volume now.

"But wait!" Hinata stepped forward. "I want to ask you something!"

"What?"

"Why haven't I known or been able to talk to you until now?"

Her question echoed into the cave.

"Some things are better off being revealed at the proper time."

The quiet in the cave was deafening.

The world faded into gray. Someone had taken a blanket off of her eyes and ears, or at least that was how it felt. She could hear the chirping of a bird, the rush of the wind over the treetops and two voices, low and discussing something.

She began to make out colors. Cream. Brown. Tan. Colors from the inside of a house. Wait, she was in a house.

Something yellow to the left caught her eye. It was an unruly mop of blond hair.

Naruto-kun.

He was asleep and leaning against the wall. He looked really tired with the dark circles under his eyes. She sat up but a sense of vertigo overcame her, forcing her to lie back down for a moment before trying again.

Wait, where was she? Who's futon was this? Who's house was this?

A door opened behind and to the left, letting sunlight spill all over the wood floor. "Ah, Hinata-chan? You're awake?" She turned to the male voice, but was blinded by the light.

The tall man walked over and crouched down to her eye level. He was young, with dark hair and grey eyes and very handsome. "How are you feeling? You were out for a while there." His eyes probed her expression.

It took her a minute to collect her thoughts. "Are you the… Demon Sage?"

He smiled. "Not what you expected, eh?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, Michinaga-sensei."

"Ahh, stop that. I hate formalities. Call me Yoshi, 'kay? Short for Yoshisune, my first name."

She nodded, then looked back at Naruto. He followed her gaze. "He carried you all the way here from what Izumi told me. You guys didn't stop until you got here."

Her expression softened with overflowing emotions for him. "How long? As in days?" she asked in a small voice.

"Three. He looked like he was on the brink of collapsing when he arrived."

She gripped the blanket. He noticed.

"You really love him, don't you?"

She bit her lip and nodded. He had no idea.

Yoshi watched her try not to cry. He stood and mussed her hair. "Go back to sleep. You just went through a lot of trauma and need to recover." He left and closed the sliding door behind him.

Hinata snuggled back down into bed facing Naruto. A liquid diamond slid down her cheek.

* * *

His neck rudely woke him up. He groaned as he sat up straight and massaged the knot.

The other thing he noticed was that Hinata had moved. She laid on her side, facing him. He tried to stand up but his sore muscles failed and he fell backwards with a very loud thump.

She stirred. And then she opened her eyes.

He had never felt so happy in his entire life like right now to see that pair of eyes conscious.

She sat up, looked at the sheets and then at him. "Naruto-kun"

His name never sounded better.

So quick that she nearly missed the movement, he was hugging her, crying and had his face buried in her hair. "Naruto-kun?!" she repeated, alarmed.

It took him a few minutes to recover enough from his outburst to form words. "I'm…so glad…you're alive." He said in between sobs.

She was alarmed to have this man-child in her arms so suddenly, but she knew his need. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here." she murmured while she rocked him back and forth and stroked his hair.

He pulled back but kept his hands on her shoulders. His eyes didn't meet hers; he was too embarrassed by his sudden move to her.

Hinata didn't resist. "Hey, what's wrong?" She leaned her forehead on his.

"I…" His voice was low and husky, only for her ears.

_I love you,_ he wanted to say. _I want to be with you…forever...._

"I'm glad you're alright." What an understatement. He leaned backwards.

She smiled and lifted his chin up with one finger. He didn't look at her. "Hey, Naruto-kun." His gaze met hers even though he had the strong urge to look away. "I'm happy." She smiled.

He scrambled to his feet so she wouldn't see his blush. "Well, um, I'm sure Izumi-baa-chan is worried about you. Let's go outside." She looked after him oddly, but she followed him out.

Yoshi stood from sitting on the porch. "You're both awake? Good, now we can get down to things."

* * *

"Sasuke-san, why? Why must we go back to my old home?" Haku watched him dry his wet hair with one of the hotel's towels.

Sasuke shook his hair one last time and then draped the towel over his shoulders. All he wore was pair of slightly too small drawstring sweats, showing off his well muscled chest. "I thought back to the time when I fought Zabuza with Team 7 initially and then the second time when I fought both of you on the bridge. Both of you were pretty strong, I'll have to admit. I know that it probably won't be enough to kill my brother, but there is power in your old home." He lay back on the second bed, folded his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.

"It makes no difference to me if you come with me there. You might not want to come because of bad memories or whatever, but it doesn't matter to me the reason why. It's your choice. Let me remind you that I will be staying there for a while and not just months. I mean years. So if you're not comfortable with that, then leave."

They had been traveling together for over a year now, and he was still indifferent to her. Was he really that much of an insensitive jerk as to not care about her after all this time? Haku stared at him, frustrated.

"When are you leaving?" she asked.

"Tomorrow." he replied simply.

Her mouth pressed into a thin line. "Is that who you met at the restaurant? One of their shinobi?"

"Yes." He still hadn't opened his eyes.

"Did you make arrangements?"

"Yes."

"You know, I would really appreciate it if you told me about these things beforehand so I wouldn't have to worry about you."

"It's my business. I can tell whomever I want about it. And there is no reason to worry, okay? I can get along fine."

"But-"

He heaved a big sigh and sat up. "Look, I don't appreciate to you poking into my business. And remember the deal we made? You can follow me around but I have the right to order you away if I want. If you don't want that to happen soon then just shut up and butt out." He flung the damp towel into the bathroom with precision and climbed into his bed with his back facing her.

That was his usual signal that the conversation was now over.

She sighed in frustration. He got really annoying sometimes like this. Of course, there were those few times when she really felt like they were friends, like when they laughed together, or after they had jointly beat a few gangs looking for Sasuke's capture. He had rewarded her with a smirk she had come to identify as his smile.

She had also picked up on other things, like how he refused to call Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi and anyone else from Konoha by their name and even the village. He just referred it as his 'old village' and nothing more. And how he loved tomatoes. And how the full moon on a cloudless night scared him for reasons she did not know. That one was probably associated with his brother, she figured.

Ticked off, she stared at his back. He was such an ass. She didn't even know why she traveled with him anymore.

She climbed into her bed as well. She turned the bedside lamp off with a click. "Goodnight." she shot at him icily.

"Hn."

A thought crossed her mind. Maybe she could freeze his bed sheets with her ice and watch him struggle and shiver to get out. That would be highly amusing indeed.

She just shook her head and lay on her side so she wasn't facing her companion. Now wasn't the time to be childish. It was time to sleep.

Sasuke was really glad that she couldn't see his face right now. His eyelids were delicately shut and his brow scrunched in frustration with himself.

He had upset her again.

Sasuke considered Haku to be his good and dear friend. She was someone he could depend on. He didn't want to lose her because of that. And here he was again, pushing her away just like he did with his former female teammate. Oh great.

He would try to apologize in the morning. Again. It would be another failed attempt at being nice because nice wasn't something he had a lot of experience in.

His open hand curled into a fist. Damnit. Why was it so hard?!

* * *

Two figures approached the cliffs out of the sandstorm.

"Don't take too long. You know I hate waiting."

"Yeah I know, yeah. I'll be quick. He can't be too tough, right?"

"Stop yapping, get in there and get him. I want this to be over as soon as possible."

"Fine." The pair, wearing straw hats and dressed in large black cloaks with red clouds, entered Suna.

* * *

**A/N: BWAHAHA I IZ ARE EVIL. YESH HE DOESN'T CONFESS. YESH IT WILL BE A BIT BEFORE HE DOES. BWAHAHAHA!**

**-CAUTION- RANT LINE -CAUTION- RANT LINE -CAUTION- RANT LINE-**

**Holy...crap. Hinata. I love you. You confessed. To Naru-kun. X} BUT WHY MUST YOU SCARE ALL US NARUHINA FANS OF ROBBING US OF OUR WISH FOR THERE TO BE CANON NARUHINA!?!?!? Sheesh, don't scare us like that with your death evar again! X3 **

**-END RANT--END RANT--END RANT--END RANT--END RANT--END RANT-**

**Yeeeah. So I had a bit of a problem with where Sasuke was going to find his power. Initially, it was Suna then I though 'Nah... doesn't fit.' Then Iwa, but Iwa doesn't fit either. So of course I coud go to my trusty BETAs for ideas. And my second one puumps out the idea of Mist and well.... that actually fits into the plotline better than I thought it would. :D Thanks Mike.**

**Until next time!**

**-IBP-**

**Next Chapter: With Deidara on the move to get the Ichibi from Gaara, what will Gaara and Sakura do? What will the details of this "demon training" entail? And how, with his newfound feelings for her, will Naruto and Hinata's relationship change?  
**


	20. Pushing It

**EDIT:**** Sorry if this puts another message in your inbox, but I wanted to make a slight change and mention one thing. **

**First, I switched the order of the scenes so it would flow better. Thank you Deathmvp.**

** Second, I forgot to mention before, but I really want to get this out there. You know that new song by Jason Mraz and Colby Calit (however you spell her name) called "Lucky"? Well, that the theme song for this chapter. I suggest re-reading the chapter while playing it. :)**

**A/N: Yaaaaay! I haz updated-ness. Fun. **

**Lalalalalalalala... It's spring breeeakk.... but it doesn't feel like spring where I live. It's all wet and rainy and cold. DX**

**A side note: If you guys want to check the most current status of this story, then go to my DA page, which has the same name as my authors account. Every time I update my Journal there, which is ALOT more often than this obviously, I put the most current status of the next chapter at the bottom. So if you're like OMG I WANT MOAR STORY NAO WHEN IS THE NEXT CHAPTER COMING OUT!!??!?!?!!1!!!11 (like a few people I know XP) then just check there, and it will tell you.**

**This is a little note from my friend when she came over one day... :)**

**The friend of the author says to send many good reviews or she will come after you with heavy objects. Flamers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again.**

**XD I love you Gwen. **

**Happy reading! **

**And of course, Naruto isn't mine. If he was, I would force him to smex me. |3  
**

**

* * *

Chapter 20 – Pushing It**

It amazed Naruto how much he had grown over the past two years. When he had first met his grandmother, his head had barely passed her shoulder. Now he stood tall enough that his eye level was a good bit higher than hers.

"I'm going to miss you Baa-chan." He hugged Izumi tightly right outside Yoshi's cottage.

She wrapped her arms around her only grandson with just as much force. "Me too." She saw Hinata out of the corner of her eye with a corner of her mouth lifted slightly in a smile. She unwrapped an arm from Naruto and gestured for Hinata to join. "Ohhh, come here you." She made the two a three-way hug. "I'm going to miss you both so much." Izumi sighed into their shoulders. "It will be boring without you guys around." She pulled away. "Kneel, both of you."

The two teens did as they were instructed. She placed her middle and forefingers on each of their brows. "As instructed by Hanshi-Dan Myuri-sama, I announce you both to be halfway to being First-Dan level masters of Kenbu-Do. You posses knowledge and skill enough to pronounce you as such. Take this knowledge with great honor and continue to practice in the forms passed down for generations." She stepped back with tears in her eyes. "Congratulations." Izumi pulled them back up into crushing one-armed hugs.

"Gran..ma…breathe…air..." Naruto gasped.

"Oh, sorry." She released them and looked from one to another with a sad smile. A tear slid down her cheek. Izumi leaned in and kissed Hinata on the forehead. "I love you as if you were my second daughter. Remember to take care of yourself." Both women glanced at Naruto, although for different reasons. Next Izumi went over and kissed him on the forhead as well. She then whispered something in his ear that made his eyes widen the slightest bit. Izumi tilted her head forward and raised her eyebrows as if she was saying "Right?"

She stepped backwards, and bowed to Yoshi. "Domo arigatou, Yoshi-kun." She took one last look at her students and family and was off running.

"Bye!" the three remaining people yelled after her until she disappeared into the trees completely.

As soon as she did, Naruto just stood there trying to figure out the double meaning behind his grandmother's parting words.

_I don't care if you're my grandson._ She had said. _Give Hinata-chan the best care she could ever ask for. She needs you more than she lets on. If you don't you have me to answer to._

Since Naruto showed no signs of moving just yet, Hinata turned to Yoshi. "So…now what?"

"I'm curious." he began. "Do you know how you got the Nibi sealed inside you?"

If he was a dog Naruto's ears would have pricked up.

"I don't know the specifics, but the Niibi stumbled upon my clan and I when we were traveling to Lightning Country to settle a debt between them and my father over me. Apparently, they thought that she-"

"The Nibi is a girl?" Naruto turned around to interrupt.

"Yes. They thought that she was going to kill them so they sealed her in me since I was the youngest there."

"Why didn't your sister go? She would have been better suited to have the Nibi."

"Hanabi-san was a newborn baby and wasn't strong enough to travel yet. I came because then it would seem more convincing that my father died, instead of my twin uncle who really died in his place."

"How do you know that that was the time that it happened?" Yoshi questioned.

"That was the only time I have ever been in Lightning Country so that had to be it. And before you ask me, my demon told me this while I was out."

Yoshi scratched his chin. "Interesting." He walked back to the cottage and stood on the porch, facing them. "As the first lesson in your Bijuu training, you will jointly build your own house but you won't use your hands. You will access your Bijuu's chakra and build that way."

"What?!" the teens yelled simultaneously.

"It's too dangerous for me! I lose a lot of my self control when I let him out!" Naruto protested.

"I don't even know how to access the Niibi….Why can't we use our hands anyways Yoshi-sen-…kun?"

"Seeing whereas there is not enough room for the three of us in my humble cottage, this doubles as a lesson for you guys in getting to know your demons better, getting used to feeling and using their chakras, and manipulating their chakras effectively."

"But I still have no idea how to get to the Nibi in the first place." Hinata mumbled.

"I-I'll show you." Naruto turned to her. "Its q-quite easy, actually." He smiled at her.

She immediately picked up on his stutter. He _never_ stuttered. That was her thing. What was up with him?

Yoshi checked the position of the sun. "Well, you guys better get cracking. Even if the day is young, you still have to harvest the lumber and the rest of the raw materials and then build it. I am giving you kids two days." He walked towards the cottage.

Naruto had never taught anyone before, save for Konohamaru, and that wasn't exactly teaching that he did. It especially was no sort of mind searching either. His lack of experience made him nervous. What he had to teach Hinata was on an entirely different scale and level.

Yoshi was just standing on the porch with his weight on one leg and his arms crossed, as if he was waiting for them to do something. Which he was.

Naruto saw him out of the corner of his eye and grabbed Hinata's wrist. "Follow me."

He really had no idea where he was going. Just somewhere secretive, private and away from _someone's_ prying eyes. Somewhere _she_ could concentrate.

They walked with him leading, her trailing behind him for over five minutes through the woods. Suddenly the trees opened up and there was another ten feet of bare ground before it dropped off as a cliff. The mountains beyond were huge, majestic and just plain breathtaking. The sunrise highlighted the edge of a nearby peak, making the edge of its snowcapped top look like it was on fire.

"Wow." Hinata gasped.

"Yeah." he breathed. His hand slipped down her wrist. He was about to hold her hand but caught himself and stepped in front of her. "Umm…" Thinking quickly, his eyes searched the small clearing. "Get on this rock, over here." he said as he walked over, going into teacher mode.

Hinata lithely leapt up onto the large boulder. "The meditating position?"

"Yup."

She sat cross-legged, pressing her palms together and closed her eyes. His voice came from behind her shoulder. "Um, usually, the Kyuubi's chakra is near my chakra center, so I would start looking for an access point to your Bijuu's chakra there. I can't tell you exactly where or how to find it. I found the Kyuubi for the first time on my own when Ero-Jiraya pushed me into a bottomless pit and forced me to use the fox's chakra to save myself. But seriously, I don't think you would want to do that." He laughed at the end.

She felt him leave and settle next to a tree and on the ground nearby. "If you need any help, I'm right here for you."

Hinata hoped for a double meaning behind his words.

She took a sharp, deep breath and turned her conscious focus inward. It was different exploring her own chakra system rather than someone else's. She did as Naruto suggested and looked at her chakra core. Surprisingly, there were small, foreign chakra passageways delicate intertwined around her core, but each time she picked one up and tried to follow it back to its source, the thread broke. There were many threads around her core, so she had many tries, but soon those were running out and she didn't know why they were breaking.

She tried to be gentle with how she handled the last twenty or so threads. When the next few tries failed as well, Hinata realized that when she explored these foreign passageways, she was putting her own chakra through them and they were breaking from the strain and since it was her chakra that was the alien chakra.

Hinata abandoned trying the get to the Nibi that way. She searched her mind for the cave that housed the demon, and came up with her only memory of it. She visualized the cold rock wall, the dark wet floor, imagining herself walking her passageways again.

"Nibi!" she called out in her head. "Where are you?!"

"Right here, kitten."

Hinata spun around and found herself face to face with the giant gate.

"Um, hi."

"What do you want?"

"I need your chakra."

The cat chuckled. "Anything else?"

Hinata raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You're just going to give it to me like that? No sort of deal or task that I have to complete?" Her tone was disbelieving.

"Your task is to not get yourself killed and avoid battle if at all possible. If you die unnaturally as in someone stabs you, then I die too. When you die of old age, my spirit is freed of you and I can continue living. That is the only thing I require of you."

"Well, that's not exactly a deal…" Hinata mumbled.

"It is. You should know this since you are a kunochi. Every single ninja mission has its risk of death."

Meanwhile, Naruto watched her. To anyone else it looked like she might never move again, except for the slight crease on her brow that popped in and out of existence, giving her away. It was kinda cute too how a corner of her mouth turned downward into a sort of small frown, he decided.

She had changed since she had first gone with him to the Uzumaki clan. At that time, she was short like they both used to be, slightly round faced, soft and fragile looking, nervous and unsure about everything and quiet. Always so, so quiet. Sometimes, he hadn't even known she was there until she spoke or made a sound.

Then, at some point, she had started to change. She became stronger, more sure of herself. He didn't exactly know when, but he had started to notice her. He became conscious of her every move, listened to her every word. He began to speak to her more and open up about himself. Sure, it was awkward, but she eventually found her own voice and talked to him.

Thus, they became best friends.

He observed the way her body moved when she breathed. His eyes followed the delicate lines of her face, down her jaw line and to her chin. She had grown and matured into a beautiful woman he thought. Her body was curved gracefully and she was, even in stillness. Her pale cream skin contrasted perfectly with her long dark hair that now blew in the wind across her face.

But they were only friends, both of them wanting more from each other and yet neither of them knew it.

Ah, the shame of their unrequited love.

Naruto closed his eyes. What had Izumi meant? Hinata needed him more than he knew? That was impossible. She liked him as a friend and nothing more. Sure, he demonstrated this to her every time they shared a hug. But what if he hugged her tighter? Like this Hina-chan? My Hina-hime?

She smiled, closed her eyes and buried her face in the crook of his neck and sighed deeply, breathing in his scent. "Mmm."

His lips brushed her hair. "I love you." he murmured. His heart jerked a funny way as he said it.

She pulled back to look at him. Unhooking an arm from around his neck, she swept his long bangs out of his eyes. Naruto's breath was taken away when she smiled. "I know." she said. "I love you too."

His head tiled down and she tilted her head up, both of them closing their eyes. The distance between them got smaller… smaller… smaller.

And right before their lips touched, Naruto woke up.

Everything was the same, except the sun was maybe a bit higher in the sky. The wind still blew; Hinata was still on her rock, finding the Niibi within her.

Naruto tilted his head back, resting it on the tree trunk and took a deep, shuddering breath. He grabbed his hair and groaned. As much as it was wrong, he wanted his daydream to go on.

He looked up into the tree, examining its small pine needles and watching the branches bend with the wind. The gentle movements were rhythmic, calming him and soothing his frustration.

"Hey." Hinata's head appeared over him.

He flinched, surprised. "Found her?"

"Yup." Her mouth popped on the P.

Naruto scrambled to his feet and suddenly remembered his dream. "Um…" Embarrassed, he bent over and brushed his pants off to hide his blush. "Can you bring out her chakra yet?"

"Oh." She looked off to the side. "No." she admitted, blushing.

"Did you even find or feel the chakra? 'Cause that's really weird if you didn't…" He spoke the last part towards the ground, scratching the back of his head.

She stood there, thinking. "What if…"

He looked up. "What if what?"

Hinata was shaking her head before he even finished. "Never mind. You wouldn't like it anyways."

"No, tell me."

She sighed. "I thought you could put some of the Kyuubi's chakra in me and that would kick start the Nibi's chakra."

His reaction was just what she had expected.

"See. I told you that you wouldn't like it." she mumbled, looking away.

Then surprisingly; "No, it's a good idea. I can see where you're coming from with this."

Her head snapped back up. "Really? You wanna try it?" her voice took a worried tone. "You're not worried about what happened last time… we did something like this?"

"Well, last time, the seal wasn't weakened."

"Good point." Hinata said and took a deep breath. "So you're absolutely sure you want to try my crazy idea?"

Naruto nodded. "Positive. Get back up on the rock like how you were before."

She got back up onto it and sat cross-legged again. He got into a front stance, placed his left hand over his right in front of her stomach where her chakra core was, and looked up at her. "Ready?"

"When you are."

Naruto, trying to control the flow, brought the Kyuubi's chakra up to his hands and tried to channel it straight out to her. His palms began to glow a bright orange. He kept glancing up to her face and tried to gauge if she need more or less from it.

It felt weird having chakra of a different nature in her. It twisted along the chakra passageways that she had found not two hours ago and opened them up, unfortunately with a bit of pain too. Figuring that it would be best to have all of them open and finding where they all were, she waited until her body was completely saturated with the demon chakra.

Naruto was beginning to get worried. Over five minutes had lapsed of him just pouring the chakra into her. It would have calmed his nerves if she had told him beforehand how much she wanted or needed. Finally, the command came.

"Okay, that's good."

He stopped the flow, stepped back and hoped she could make this work.

Hinata moved the Kyuubi's chakra along her passageways to her hands, down to her feet and back. It felt odd, that was for sure, kind of like having something furry tickling the inside your veins.

"Naruto-kun?" she suddenly asked.

He was startled. "Y-yeah?"

"How do you do that cloak thing?"

"The…The what?" He sounded utterly confused.

"The thing that you do when the Kyuubi's chakra covers your whole body."

He was uneasy with telling her, but he did so anyways. "Let the chakra go into your human chakra passageways and take over your whole body."

Hinata relaxed, letting the chakra overtake her like a wave from the ocean. And pretty soon, she was glowing reddish-orange.

Naruto jumped back when he saw her cloaked in the energy. He glanced up to her eyes but thankfully, they were still lilac through the orange.

Hinata looked at her new right hand as she opened and closed it. "Cool." She stood and placing her palms together, pushed the chakra out of her body in all directions. It only took her a few seconds to run dry, but she kept on pushing and pushing.

And there it was, coming up on the heels of the Kyuubi's chakra, filling its own chakra passageways for the first time.

Hinata literally exploded blue. Her nails quickly grew long and sharp, her long pigtails flew out behind her and her eyes changed, just like his did. They turned a shocking yellow and when she closed and reopened them, her normally pupil-less eyes each had a slit, just like a cat.

The Nibi's chakra didn't take any form. It molded around Hinata's body like a second skin. She crouched down on all fours and swiped at the rock she was on. Chunks sprayed everywhere, making her smile impishly at her newfound strength.

Hinata glanced up at Naruto and nearly fell off the rock laughing. His expression, a mix of awe and surprise, was hilarious.

"Whaaaaat?!" he yelled blushing.

Grinning, she leapt off the rock and landed on all fours, a testament to her new affinity. "You just being you." She turned towards they way they had come before. "C'mon. Let's go show him."

Naruto returned the smile, happy to see her so enthusiastic about this. He brought out the Kyuubi in the full fledged one-tail form and crouched down. "I'm gonna getcha." he growled.

"Pfft. Highly unlikely." Hinata was off like a shot, running on all fours like the new cat she was, towards their new teacher.

Naruto wasn't far behind. He would let her win this one.

* * *

The first explosion was all the notice that Gaara needed that a foreigner was in the village.

He was out and about with Sakura. She had been given a second term as an ambassador by Tsunade because she had been accepted as a sort of motherly figure in Suna. Both of them froze and shot each other panicked glances.

"An attack?" she asked.

"Yes." He wrapped an arm around her waist and formed a handsign with his free hand. The sand swirled around them and immediately teleported them to the top of the Kazekage tower. "Where is the enemy and what is his nature?" he ordered.

A Jounin rushed over and kneeled. "Kazekage-sama, the single man is in the sky. He rides upon a bird. We do not know if the beast is a summons or something else."

Another blast came from nearby.

Gaara's arm tightened around Sakura. His head snapped up to search the night sky until he spotted the invader near the moon. "Fire the defense ballistae. See if you can shoot him down."

"Hai, Kazekage-sama!" The Nins that had gathered dispersed in all directions across the rooftops. A building on the other side of town exploded, sending more debris into the air.

Sakura stared worriedly at the young man that still held her. He kept looking at the night sky, following the enemy with his eyes.

"He's come to get me." he growled under his breath. "I knew it."

She gasped. "Who?"

It was a moment before he answered. "There is an organization named Akatsuki that is spread out across the Ninja World. The members are all S-ranked Nins that have defected from their villages for one reason or another. The aim of the organization is to acquire the Nine Bijuu of legend." His eyes snapped to another spot in the sky. "And this man wants Shukaku."

"No…" Sakura breathed. Another explosion went off. She looked to where Gaara was looking. There was a great bird that twisted and turned in the sky. The man that stood on its back didn't even seen to notice. It looked like he had something white in his hands.

"I had a run-in with him once before." Gaara recalled. "He looked just the same then as he does now."

She knew that he had rarely left Suna for some things and they were definitely not missions. So where had he met this man before? "H-how did you defeat him last time? Can't you do it again?"

His voice took a hard edge. "I didn't. He ran away. He was outnumbered." He pulled her into a hug and rested his chin on her head. "If I do end up fighting him, I promise I will come back." His vicious eyes never left Deidara as he sealed his pledge. "I promise."

Sakura pressed her face into his chest. "Thank you." She pulled back and stood next to him, taking his hand in hers.

He looked down at her, alarmed. She was smiling up at him with her brows pinched together and squeezed his hand to reassure him.

A corner of his mouth lifted up into a sincere smile. He couldn't help but feel elated right now, despite the dangerous situation. He squeezed back as he felt a deeper connection form between them.

The unspoken "I love you" didn't need to be said right now. One look into each other's eyes was enough.

They shifted to stand closer together and turned back to the aerial battle that was unfolding in front of them.

* * *

**A/N: GOMENASAI! GOMANASAI! I AM SUCH A BAD AUTHOR!! If you were expecting a massive Gaara/Deidara fight, I'm sorry! You see, I wrote the NaruHina part first and didn't have any moar energyz to write bigginormoussupaawesomefightscene aaaand I settled for some friggin fluff. Eh, you knew it was coming and they were getting together at some point :P THE FIGHTNESS WILL HAPPEN NEXT TIME! I SWEARZ UPON MY NINDO DATTEBAYO!!! Anyways the story can't afford for there NOT to be a fight scene lol  
**

**And since I quit spring track, that means more time to write and hopefully the chaps will come out fasterrrr!..... (if I don't procrastinate XD )**

**Until neeext time,**

**IBP**

**Next Chapter: The fight unfolds, bringing Gaara to face his toughest opponent ever. Yet when Deidara pulls a cheap but devastating move, the Kazekage is ready to destroy everything in his path.  
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	21. Fight and Flight

**A/N: Hokay. So. Its been a month. One full of frustration on how to make this damn chapter work. And seriously, its hard to write a fight scene that's exciting, long but not too long. I have found that there is a limit before it just drags on andon andonandon and... well, you know what I mean. **

**This came out late because the story is on the middle burner on my list of priorities. Not the front burner, not the back burner. Somewhere in the middle. Fuck school, thank you its almost over, fuck the homework load that I get from that.**

**Oh, and btw, this story has over 100,000 hits to it. Thanks guys! -gives two cookies to everybody-  
**

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* * *

Chapter 21 – Fight and Flight**

Deidara had no trouble a tall avoiding the five foot long bolts from the ballistae. They were no more than flies to him, buzzing around and very easy to be squashed. The same went for the men that operated those machines of war.

After about a minute, they began to annoy him. He dug into the pouches full of clay at his sides and created a handful of small mice figurines with the mouths in his hands. he flew over each of the buildings that had a ballista and dropped a mouse on each of them. The shinobi on top ducked since he had swooped so low, so nobody noticed the newcomer. Deidara resumed his charade in the sky all the while controlling the clay mice with his chakra to scurry underneath the ballistae.

Once they were all in position, he set them all off with a sadistic grin. "I don't see why Saisori insists art is something that lasts. Art is temporary, so beautiful and a bang, yeah!" He looked over the dead ninja on the rooftops, smiling wider. If he could, he would destroy the whole village this way, but he had come here for business and not pleasure.

Surely by this time, the Kazekage and Jinjuuriki had to be watching somewhere, enraged by this destruction. He flew on his bird over to the Kazekage building and began circling it, looking for anybody that had some sort of authority.

There was a man there, standing amongst a flurry of action to help their burning and bleeding comrades nearby. He did nothing except stand next to a pink- haired girl and when anybody approached him, he spoke and they each went away to do a different task. And Deidara realized that the red- haired man was glaring at him. He had a look in his eyes that bordered insanity he was so enraged. It would strike fear into any other man, but Deidara was a hardened warrior beyond his years and his smile returned from such a presenting challenge.

He made a small clay eagle, not unlike the one he rode on and let it loose over the building. If all that Jinjuuriki was going to do was stand there, he was quite literally a sitting duck for his bombs.

The bird exploded a mere seven feet from the rooftop, but it never reached its target. Somehow, a shield of sand had bloomed from the center right underneath the explosion, covering everyone nearby.

Deidara raised an eyebrow. This wasn't what he had expected.

* * *

Sakura peeked up from where she had clutched Gaara's shoulder, confused as to why the blast had suddenly disappeared. The sky was… suddenly a ruddy brown color. She turned to Gaara and asked him what the hell was going on.

"My sand." he replied. The wall overhead began to crumble as the sand became free-flowing again. He suddenly whisked her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry. He won't leave until he either is dead or has me."

"No, you ca-" she started as he pushed him away. Sakura stopped mid-sentence, controlling her instinct to plead him to stay when she saw the pained look in his eyes. It wouldn't do any good for either of them. He had to fight and her begging would only tear the both of them apart even more than they were already. She calmly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I understand." She turned her eyes to his face. "Just don't leave, okay? Come back."

A corner of his mouth lifted up as he pulled her again into a hug.

Sakura took that as an 'I will.'

* * *

Deidara smirked as the man floated up to him on a sand cloud. Finally, he had weeded him out.

But, what was that exchange below? Between him and the pink-haired woman? There were two hugs involved. They must have some sort of important relationship, Deidara decided. He frowned, not having enough time to guess the depth of that relationship and filed the information away for later, should it become useful.

He turned and flew higher so if the ants below managed to fix the arrow-launchers they couldn't get to them. He turned to meet his opponent, but the red-haired man was right there behind him and had almost overtaken him. His clay eagle dodged left, missing getting hit by just a few feet. Just as he recovered, a huge, solid arm of sand was swinging his way. He didn't have enough time to dodge again, so he flung a handful of spider bombs he had made before while waiting at it hoping to destroy it. The sand disintegrated a split second before it hit him full on, so he was only knocked slightly off balance.

Deidara immediately flew out of his range and spoke aloud in a voice so it carried. "Come peacefully Jinjuuriki, else your village be destroyed, yeah."

"Is there a third option?" the man spoke equally as loud.

"No."

"Then you will be the one that dies!" Some sort of emotion was there in his voice, as well as a tone he recognized well; the desire for blood, this time stronger than any other he had ever encountered. His stomach dropped out as he felt himself struck with some sort of emotion that was alien, even though he had felt it before long ago.

It took him a second to recall, but he ultimately concluded it was fear. In the absurdity of it all, Deidara grinned like a madman. His instinct told him this was going to be one hell of a fight.

Despite his fury, Gaara managed to keep his head straight. He knew it was never smart to attack your foe first, blindly and head-on. He stood on his cloud of sand with his arms crossed, staring at the other man. He definitely would not make that first move. Whoever would do so would immediately be marked as the loser.

_Why doesn't he move?!_ Deidara thought impatiently. "Saisori's gonna have my ass if I don't speed this up. I've already wasted a lot of time playing around, yeah." He grumbled under his breath. He dug his hands into the pouches of explosive clay and formed six miniature birds, three in each hand. They all flew off in six different directions but each aiming for the same target. As soon as they took off, he made a sort of lizard in one hand and a handful of spiders in the other, preparations if the bird didn't knock him out with that one combined powerful shot.

A second after the backups were completed, the primary attack set off in one big blast where the Jinjuuriki was. Deidara smiled. Te other guy was an idiot. He hadn't moved at all, standing there confidently on his wisp of cloud like he ruled the world.

The smoke cleared, and Gaara hadn't moved an inch, and nor did he have the slightest scratch on him.

_Bastard! How'd he survive?_ Deidara's eyes remained trained on his foe, frustrated and unaware of the wisp of sand that flew up from below.

It coiled around his steed's legs, tying them together like a pair of chicken's legs and yanked down.

Deidara suddenly felt his platform give out and he found himself falling thousands of feet to his death. In the blink of eye, he made a clay owl which expanded to a huge size like the one before it. It flew under Deidara and caught him, immediately bringing him back up to his former altitude.

"Yeah, you're going to have to try something different yeah. Being sneaky like that doesn't affect me, yeah." he called out.

"I was testing you. I've also found your weak point." Gaara's voice had no trace that he doubted himself.

"Stop with the bullshit. I know you're bluffing Jinjuuriki." The Akatsuki member spat out the name like it was poison.

_I told you that you would die. And you've made the first move too… That taboo means you're surely going to meet the Shinigami tonight._

Without hesitation, Gaara closed the space between them with two arms of sand leading in front of him, the first arm headed straight for the enemy, the second trailing behind and to the left.

Deidara dodged to his left, flying up and over Gaara so he landed behind him. Gaara sent one arm of sand around to hit him on his left and another more secretly on his right. Deidara only saw the one on his left coming and was slammed on his right when he tried to evade. Surprisingly, he stayed on his steed as he was knocked flying, the sand latching onto the right side of his body. It began to overtake him, crawling over his legs and moving up his torso until it nearly covered everything except for his head.

Luckily, the side of his body that was feeding the sand was the side that held the spiders. He sent them crawling down the line until they were a good distance away so they wouldn't injure him but could still be effective, and detonated them.

The effect was immediate. Deidara felt the sand be whisked away by the wind and found himself able to breathe again.

By this time though, a giant claw of sand had begun to descend upon him and capture him. He kneeled down on his bird and directed it swiftly out of its grasp. The claw closed on empty air but it reared up again and followed, trying to snatch him out of the air. Deidara kept evading, looking for a way to get back in control of the situation.

He swooped low, flying in between the buildings so the hand could not get him. Civilians and shinobi alike threw themselves out of his way as he sped down the streets.

Gaara's eyes narrowed. Now he had no idea where that man was. He floated slowly back over the Kazekage building and took up a post, watching for any signs of out of place movement.

Unfortunately, the buildings were tall enough that Deidara could move about freely. He made four clay geckoes in addition to the one lizard he still had and stuck them on random buildings as he flew in a wide circle around the Kazekage tower. As soon as the last one stuck, he checked how much clay he had. _Enough for another two rounds at least, maybe another owl if it comes to that,_ he mused. He flew up to make himself seen but stayed a safe distance from his foe. Gaara turned around to face him immediately, but he didn't attack.

Deidara cackled like he was insane as he formed a hand sign. "Katsu!"

The lizard and four geckoes exploded, sending debris hundreds of feet into the air. The sight of his beloved village burning sent Gaara into a fit of rage.

"You… shall… DIE." He enunciated each word with venom.

A deep far off rumbling filled the air. Deidara looked past Gaara and saw a huge wave of sand rise up from behind the cliff-wall of the village. He grinned again. "Excellent."

Gaara, as soon as the sand had collected into one enormous cloud behind him, formed it into a ginormous claw that looked like it belonged to Shukaku. It sped towards the opponent, branching off into smaller claws as it tried to snatch Deidara out of the air when the large one missed. He kept on dodging and evading, unaware again of the quicker shots of sand that wove through the sand claws.

The large claw positioned itself so it would snatch Deidara from below. The quicker sand wrapped itself around the bird's legs and tugged, sending its rider into the waiting palm.

Gaara's outstretched hand closed into a fist. "Desert Coffin…"

The walls around Deidara began to close in quickly around him. As fast as it was possible, he made two four-winged birds, the fastest projectiles he could make. They darted to the other side of his soon-to-be coffin of sand.

The sand easily gave way to the explosion and he made his escape, even though it led him to free-fall. Using the last of his clay, he made the largest bird that he could make and made a beeline for the Kazekage tower on it.

"It seems I cannot defeat you with skills alone, yeah." Deidara said loud enough for all to hear as he sped up. "If I can't make you," he continued, "I'll force you so that you _will_ obey, yeah."

Time began to slow and pass painfully as Gaara watched Sakura raise her arms, kunai in hand, to protect herself from the oncoming white talons.

He could hear her protests and screams as she slashed futilely with her hand weapon at the claws that held her below the massive white bird.

His vision went red.

And before he could do anything, or even lift a finger, Deidara was outside of the village limits.

"If you want her back," he called over his shoulder, "meet me at the forest edge in the morning, yeah. Come alone."

Gaara was trembling with a barely controlled rage. He wasn't going to let her go, but he could no any other way for her to be rescued without getting hurt. As much as it tore at him, he had to back down. He had to. _She will be back in twenty-four hours,_ he promised himself. _She must._

He floated back down to the roof of the Kazekage tower, never taking his eyes off the retreating white speck in the sky. Baki, his former sensei and good friend, rushed over.

"We can't just let him get away!" He pointed in the direction Deidara had left. "He took Konoha's ambassador for Kami's sake!" He paused to glare. "Why are you just standing there?!"

Gaara felt his face crumple in pain. "Because as of now, I can do nothing to save her."

Baki waved his hands around. "What the hell does that mean?!" his voice lowered. "If I'm not mistaken, you have feelings towards her." He saw Gaara wince. "What happened to them?" he demanded.

"The only way for her not to get injured from this is if we rescue her at the set place and time. I know. I don't like it one bit more than you do, but it is necessary for her sake." He took a deep, controlled breath, his tone of voice changing. "He will be waiting for us to attack at some odd time. I have to go alone on this one, Baki-san. He will know if I bring reinforcements and he'll kill her if I do."

Baki paused. "Kazekage-sama, how do you know all of this?"

Gaara turned and walked towards the edge of the roof. "It's not hard to tell. Most villains think alike." He made a hand sign, speaking with an eye looking over his shoulder to the man. "I have to go help the people now. You go help too." The sand swirled up around him, taking him away.

Baki kneeled, his Kage's words ringing true in his ears. "Hai! Kazekage-sama!"

* * *

**A/N: I fucking hate it when I know what happens, but I can't spit the words out onto paper. Like I knew that a fight would happen, and I knew that Sakura was going to be taken, but I didn't know the specifics. Like its a vague blob of a scene and suddenly it has to be defined in an instant, and its hard to get it as such. You have to, like, rape your brain to get it OUT at least. Does anybody get what I mean?**

**I think I suck at aerial fight scenes.**

**And the reason that this is short is to keep you all on edge. Sure, I would like to write the whole damn thing, but two fight scenes between the same two people in the same chapter? Please. Enough violence in one go. **

**Obviously, the next chapter will be longer lol.**

**Oh, and here's some props to my wonderful betas VFSNAKE and Mike M. for not even complaining about the length or anything. Thanks guys. You make me feel like my writing is less cruddy than I think it is. :)**

**Before the end of the school year, see ya!**

**-IBP-**

**Next Chapter: The legends, the stories, the HISTORY of Naruto's and Hinata's Bijuu are revealed. But what is wrong with Naruto in all of this? And what does Hinata plan to do about it?**


	22. Legends of Truth

**EDIT: Sorry, there were a lot of errors in the text and that really bothered me :S Plus, I forgot to mention the "theme songs" for the part with Naruto and Hinata, erm, ALONE in this chapter. XD  
**

**Hinata- "Beautiful Disaster (Live)" by Kelly Clarkson**

**Naruto- "Broken" by Seether**

**Sorry if this made you excited that the next chapter was out.... or something DX  
**

**--------------------------------------  
**

**A/N: Yaaaay!! Holy crap I've had enough of typing to last me a month, cause that's all I've been doing these past three days. I'm going away on a vacation tomorrow to the Carribean, so I wanted to get this done and out before I left. THANK GOD IT'S FINALLY DONE.**

**If you haven't noticed already, this chapter is nice and long to make up for the shitty length of the last chapter. Haha well, not really. There was alot that needed to happen in this chapter, otherwise I would be dragging out the story. So, I'm a nice author. I hope... D: no wait. I AM A NICE AUTHOR because of what happens in this chapter. Nyahahaah!!  
**

**I want to ask you all, both guys and girls: I'm kinda lacking in the 'to read' department of my manga world. Do you guys have any suggestions? It can be anything, long or short, completed or incomplete, straight, yaoi ( X3 ), shounen or shojo, basically anything, just as long as its not a super-creepy-horror story.**

**Oh and about something else: I turned 16 last weekend. Yay me!!**

**Have fun reading!!**

* * *

**Chapter 22 – Legends of Truth**

Flying low over the seemingly endless sea of bare rock, sand and dust at daybreak wasn't the thing that tired Gaara out the most. It wasn't the rising heat or how he unconsciously kept his special sand moving to propel himself forward. Just worrying about her took nearly all his energy, imagining how bad she was hurt, how his enemy and her captor had her bound so she could not escape.

The sun rose higher, the heat kicked up and the winds began to blow across the desolate landscape.

It seemed that the natural sands also reflected his mood. The gales started to whip up a nasty sandstorm but that was nothing for someone who had lived through them all their lives.

As the sun cleared the horizon, Gaara had made it to the flatlands, the thin borderland between the desert and the forest. It would only be a short walk now.

He saw the great white bird flying in a stationary position in the sky and angled his path towards it, but stopped. An ingenious idea occurred to him.

Gaara lowered himself to the ground with his sand and relaxed it like a muscle so the wind would pick it up and scatter it. He now approached on foot as if he was approaching his death, head hung and without his gourd, absolutely defenseless. The wind began to blow fiercely at his back, as if it was encouraging him to go forward.

And the sun rose even higher in the clear blue sky.

A while later a black shape appeared through the wavering heat on the horizon. It grew larger, more defined as he walked closer red dots on it turned onto clouds and an out of place splurge of pink near the ground morphed into a head of hair.

Sakura.

She was kneeling with her hands tied behind her back and a rag tied over her mouth. It didn't look like she was hurt but she did have dark circles around her eyes which were red and sleepless. They were wide, pleading for him not to do this for her. _Don't Gaara. Please. I'm not worth it._ they said.

Deidara stood there showing no emotion on his face. His right eye, the only one Gaara could see since the other was covered by long blond hair that fell over it, was crazy with satisfaction.

Gaara fell to his knees twenty feet away, eyes towards Deidara but not focused, mouth slightly open but not exactly aware of the action.

Deidara barked a laugh. "If I had known it would have been this easy, I would have captured her earlier." He stepped forward. "I sense you are completely alone and without your sand. What did you do with it?" he walked closer until he was only a few feet away and bent down.

Gaara answered in a hoarse voice. "I let the wind carry it away and scatter it."

Deidara grinned wildly. "And if you're faking," he threw in for good measure, "I put a small vial of a lethal poison that will make her suffer, just in case you don't follow through, yeah. The glass is thin and will break easily if you snatch her up if you somehow manage to flee from me, as well as one of my personal bombs in her head." He stood up. "Look at me, Jinjuuriki."

Gaara's eyes focused on him.

"Are you really gonna give up yourself to me for this girl, yeah?" Deidara looked in his eyes and saw that this man had already accepted his death. His lifeless eyes said that he really was going to give up his life for this girl, that he had no tricks up his sleeves, and that nobody was going to jump up and yell "Gotcha!"

"Yes." His voice was devoid of any emotion.

He struck Gaara's face. "Get up and untie her. Be careful. You wouldn't want to break her, yeah." he sneered.

Gaara got up and did as he was told. Sakura slowly turned and looked at him after he was done with her mouth and wrists and had moved on to the knots on her ankles. What she saw there was surprising in the least.

He had a spark in his eyes. A corner of his mouth twitched into a mischievous grin he knew only she could see.

He had a plan to get both of them out of this alive, with the Akatsuki man dead.

They stood up together; hands locked, and faced Deidara. "Here's water and food for a day." He tossed Sakura a canteen and a small lumpy sackcloth and pointed the way Gaara had come. "The village is that way. Leave! Now!"

Sakura turned to Gaara, and he swept her up into a hug. "Hide behind the first sand dune. I'll kill him and then we can go back and have those things taken out of you." He whispered in her ear.

"I love you. I'll miss you." Sakura said. "Please, you don't have to do this." The words were a bit too loud to be private.

Deidara shoved them apart with more force than necessary. "Alright, enough gushiness. Me and lover boy have to leave, yeah." Sakura felt something in her neck crack as her head got thrown back.

The dry ground she laid on was hot and dusty. She breathed in sharply and the dust in the air swirled down her throat. It gave her a throbbing headache.

_Thud thud thud_

_THUD THUD THUD THUD_

They were too hard now. Too loud, too close. A breeze picked up in time with the thuds and soon both those and the breeze began to fade away.

She opened her eyes an time to see the great white bird fly away with two men on it. She watched them go as she picked up the canteen and then headed over the dune, just like he said. She got a bit lightheaded as soon as she got over the crest and unscrewed the lid to take a sip, hoping the water would clear out the increasing fuzziness in her head. Though, the canteen never made it to her lips and she collapsed.

The water spilled out all over the ground and seeped into the sand.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Gaara sped on his cloud over the wasteland scrub, with the feeling of a knot in his stomach had just released. He drifted slightly from side to side in his glee, elated that he had eliminated the greatest threat to his only source of true and pure happiness. Though, he couldn't help but have a feeling of dread deep down. Maybe it was because was that Sakura was still in danger with the bomb and vial of poison. Maybe because there were definitely more dangerous members of that organization all Akatsuki out there that will want him again in the future. He didn't know for sure.

It was a bit before the place the exchange had happened came into view. Gaara headed for the dune and landed lightly. It seemed that Sakura had gotten tired of waiting from the stress and the rough night she had without him, and slept soundly on her side.

"Sakura?"

She didn't respond. He walked over, crouched down and shook her shoulder.

"Sakura?"

Her hair fell back and revealed the left side of her neck and shoulder to be covered in blood.

The knot tightened instantly as soon as he realized why she was bleeding: the poison vial had broken.

He gently rolled her onto her back and pressed his ear to her chest. Her heart was still beating. He brushed his fingertips lightly along the joint of her neck and shoulders. Oh, how many times had he imagined himself doing this to her ever so gently? But he never in this situation imagined he would do it.

He felt the glass sticking out oddly of her skin. He grasped a shard firmly between his forefinger and thumb and pulled it out slowly. It was only the size of half of his pinky nail, but the blood flow picked up when it was out.

His eyes glanced from it to her face and his hand clenched over the glass, cutting his palm. He took no notice.

He stood trying to think of the closest hospital or medical center. There was Chiyo-sama, master of poisons back home in Suna. Surely she would know the poison and thus its antidote. But there was Tsunade-sama from Konoha as well and she was a medical master. The border between Fire and Sand countries was only two or so miles away and Konoha was closer to the border than Suna.

Gaara scooped Sakura up with his sand and he got on his cloud, soon, they were speeding towards the trees.

* * *

She really was going to kill that man someday. Or put him in jail at least for peeping. Abusing the power of the office of Hokage wasn't something that she did often but it seemed very… appealing at the moment.

The complaints about Jiraya's peeping were coming in heavier now more than ever and probably because he hadn't "gotten any" or been to a brothel for over a year now. If anybody knew him, Tsunade knew this to be the exact reason why he did this.

"Jiraya," she sighed for what felt like the hundredth time, "you better stop this or I will seriously banish you from Konoha. I can do that you know, whether you're a Sanin or not."

"Ah, but Tsunade, how else will I get the inspiration and material for my books?" He gestured out the windows behind her desk in her office. "The male population, deprived of their smut, will suffer without fresh scenes! They study my books for new bedroom techniques and –"

Tsunade grabbed him by the front of his robe and hoisted him into the air with one arm. "Do. You. Think. I. Care. About. THAT?!" She enunciated each word with an increasing volume. "I don't care if you're my childhood friend, I don't care that we were teammates, I don't even care that we've been through a lot of shit together! You must- WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!"

Jiraya looked away from the gratuitous view of her cleavage she had provided him with when she had lifted him up into the air. "Nothing." He said, but the nosebleed and the slowly widening perverted grin gave him away completely. The next thing he tasted was the metallic flavor of blood and he enjoyed a wonderful view of the floor.

"Jiraya-" she started as she walked over.

"Hokage-sama!" The door to the office slammed open and a Genin messenger appeared.

"I'm kinda busy right now." Tsunade growled.

"Hokage-sama," he began, "the Kazekage urgently needs you at the main hospital!"

That made her stop. "The Kazekage? What for? And why is here with no warning?"

"He brought in a woman by the name of Haruno. I know nothing else except that he requested you there immediately."

She frowned and looked down at Jiraya. "We'll continue this later."

At the hospital, everything was in chaos like usual, but this time she felt some sort of urgency that she rarely felt when saving someone's life in the emergency room. A nurse ran over as soon as she walked in the door.

"She's poisoned." The young woman explained. "There was a vial of a strange poison in her neck that broke because of some violent movement. We got the glass out but the Kazekage doesn't want us to do anything else to her. He wants you to take a look at her first."

"Symptoms?" Tsunade demanded.

"Contracted pupils, tense muscles with spasms at times, and her heart and liver are deteriorating slowly as well. She might go into ventricular fibrillation if it keeps up or it might completely fail. We don't know." They had turned down another hallway on the ground floor. "In here." The nurse said and turned right into a room.

Two medics were already in there, one carefully monitoring the person on the bed and another keeping the girl cool by changing out cold washcloths on her head and arms. The third person in the room was the Kazekage, clutching the young woman's hand as if both his and her lives depended on it.

Tsunade walked over to take a look at the patient herself. The face she saw sent her reeling into flashbacks of her little Naruto and his Team 7 two years ago when she sent him off onto a training trip. Of that Team 7, one of them, though much younger than what she saw now, was Sakura Haruno._ Haruno_. Why hadn't she recognized the name before back in her office?

And she should remember that name easily as well because she was the village's ambassador to Sunagakure. She sent her off on that mission quite some time ago.

Wait, so why was she here now with the Kazekage in tow? And on a hospital bed of all places? That didn't matter right now. She would get it out of them after this problem was solved.

The Kazekage gave her a panicked look. It was more than that, really. It was more desperate, more pleading. It was one that feared losing something infinitely precious. He watched Tsunade snap on a pair of latex gloves and place her ear on the girl's chest. She frowned and picked her head back up.

"Flashlight." she ordered, one being placed into her palm immediately. She checked each eye and they were just like how the nurse had said, contracted and bloodshot as well. She opened Sakura's mouth. Her throat was partially swollen. Things were coming together quickly inside her head.

"The poison is metal-based." Her tone was of someone who had hardened through many medical emergencies as she turned around to her subordinates. "Get me five pans of water, a bottle of bromic acid, tea tree oil, bandages and a scalpel." They all rushed out of the room leaving only the two Kages and the afflicted girl.

Tsunade grabbed a stool from a corner of the room and sat next to Gaara on it. "What happened?" The change in her voice from commanding to motherly was like switching on a light.

Gaara breathed slowly, his eyes never leaving Sakura's face. "Since I am a Jinjuuriki, this organization called Akatsuki came after my Bijuu. Have you heard of them?"

"Yes. All I know of them is that their aim is to collect all Nine Bijuu of Legend. They attacked you and she got in the way?"

"Yes and no." He continued to explain what had transpired starting from the attack two nights ago to where they were now in as quick of words as possible. She could see that this boy-man was in love with Sakura by the way he talked about her, by the way he looked at her, and by the way he was beating himself up by saying that it was his fault that she was so near death right now.

It was funny. The first time she had seen Gaara, he was only a small boy. After that, when she was invited as a Kage to the ceremony that made him Kazekage, he had changed into a teenager on the verge of becoming a man. He was a hard person then, with only a soft spot for his older brother and sister. He became a fearless warrior with very little to lose.

Now… now he was completely different. He looked like the small child she had first seen, a being without guidance or comfort. It was amazing how much this girl had changed him.

In the midst of her observations, the nurses came back with the supplies she had ordered. Tsunade poured the bromic acid equally between the five pans of water and put seven drops of tea tree oil in each as well. She made an incision right above Sakura's heart and liver with the scalpel. "Now everyone, take a limb and hold her down. She might thrash around a bit, but that's okay, just make sure you hold her down. You too Gaara-san." She looked directly into his eyes. A chorus of "Hai, Hokage-sama!" echoed around her.

He hesitantly pinned her right arm down to the bed. _This is for her. This will make her get better. Don't watch. _He closed his eyes.

Tsunade took the oil-acid solution out of the pan into an orb and eased it into Sakura's body right below her left armpit. Her other hand hovered above the cut over her heart and began to pull the solution out of the girl's body slowly.

Sakura's back arched off the bed, though not as much as it should have since she had four people holding her down. A low moan escaped the back of her throat. Tsunade glanced at Gaara. He had the lost child look on his face again.

The solution came out the incision with a new dark red-purple swirl in it._ Good, I was right. _She held the orb of solution over the pan and released it, letting it splash into it. She took the next pan of solution and did the same with her liver except slower this time, trying to get all of the poison she could out. This continued with the remaining pans of solution until she had taken all the poison out of all the major organs.

Tsunade stepped back sweating. "Bandage her up and stitch up her neck if you haven't done so already, and throw out four of the pans. I'll need the last one to make an antidote." She looked at Gaara. "You owe me for this."

He was relived, that was for sure. It was plain on his face. "I believe I owe you nothing since you just saved your own ambassador."

"True, true." She replied nodding. "Just make sure she gets a lot of sleep in the meantime. Metal-based poisons destroy the body and she has a lot of recovering to do." Tsunade turned around in a swirl of robes. "Come by my office with her once she heals and we'll have tea." She didn't wait for a response from him, but peeked as she went out the door and smiled in the sweetness of what she saw.

With her head in his hands, he had kissed her on the forehead.

* * *

Standing on the ground with his Kyuubi cloak activated and an arm of it holding a rock, Naruto hammered the last wooden peg into place on Hinata and his new home. He let the rock drop to the ground, pulled the cloak back inside him and stepped back next to Hinata.

"Done. _Finally_." She sighed and then turned to look in the direction of the trees. "About time too, the sun is about to set."

It was the end of the second day that Yoshi had given them to build their new cottage house where they would stay in for the next two years. It had sliding storm doors, regular sliding paneled doors, smooth wood floors and, to Naruto's amazement, a stone foundation. He hadn't thought that they could get that in there and would have to settle for a wood base with the amount of time that they had, but he and Hinata had managed. It consisted of only two rooms; one for him and one for her with a sliding wood door between them for privacy, but that was all that they had needed. Living with the Uzumakis had taught them to live simply.

Yoshi came by to check it out after they had gone to get him. He examined their work with the eye of a carpenter. "Nice and sturdy." He said, rapping his fist on one of the corner posts. Suddenly, he slammed it hard with a punch, causing the post to splinter and nearly break. The cottage groaned from the sudden lack of support.

"Hey! Whatcha do that for?!" Naruto yelled.

"I was just checking if it really was built well." Yoshi replied calmly. "Here, I'll fix it." He laid a hand on it and the wood fibers wove themselves back together instantly. "There, good as new."

Hinata's eyebrows rose. That would have come in handy so many times in her past.

"For this, you guys deserve a good meal." Yoshi commented, walking back to his normal cottage ten feet away.

Dinner was a happy affair, though quieter than an Uzumaki one because of the lack of people. Naruto kept to himself a lot but Hinata talked unabated with Yoshi about how he knew so much about construction. It turned out that he was a carpenter for six years in a village at one point, but he had left.

Yoshi pushed his bowl away and folded his hands behind his head. "The second lesson is the history of each of your Bijuu." His eyes switched from Naruto to Hinata and back. "Do either of you know why?"

There was a moment of silence before Hinata answered, "What happens now depends on what happened before?" It sounded like a question.

"Correct. Everything you see here, the sky, the trees, the birds, your new house, yourselves," he gestured to everything in turn, "anything that consists of you ; your personality, your skills, your tendencies all of these are results of things that happened and things that you have been through. These dictate what you will do now and more or less what you can do now.

"Now, the history of both your demons is long, so listen attentively. The Nine Bijuu of legend were created when the matriarch and patriarch, Izanami and Izanagi respectively, created the world. Each was set in part of the world as the ruling spirit to keep peace and harmony. Five of them were made as gods; the one-tail Ichibi or Shukaku of wind, the three tail Sanbi or Isonade of water, six-tail Rokubi or Raijuu of lightning, the seven-tail Shichibi or Kaku of earth and the nine-tail Kyuubi of fire. None of them got jealous of one another's power because they did not know of each other.

"Remember at this point, none of them are Bijuu. As the other gods were created as well as humans, humans built shrines in each part of the land for each "Great Spirit" as they were called back then. The Fire shrine for the Kyuubi was the largest of all of them. These shrines had worshipers like a religion with each having varying amounts of followers with the Kyuubi having the largest following. At each shrine was a carving of each spirit in an animal form. All of the carvings are the same animals as they are now except for the Hachibi, or eight-tail.

"Then a devout worshiper of the Hachibi, or Yamato no Orochi as his proper name is, went alone to worship at his shrine. He prayed to Yamato no Orochi to take all his life force and become a physical being.

"Unfortunately, this man's life force or chakra as we call it, was enormous. It was almost as large and unlimited as yours Naruto." He looked at the teen as he said it. "With this amount of chakra, Yamato no Orochi's spirit manifested itself in the stone snake that was its statue and sprouted eight heads and eight tails. The man immediately died after he saw his god in physical form since he gave up every last bit of chakra to him.

"Yamato no Orochi proceeded to eat his body and then grew to the size of over eight mountains in length. For the next few hundred years, he roamed the land, destroying villages and eating people. Finally, people were tired of being terrorized by the monster. A brave warrior of the Kusanagi clan, using the fabled and extremely powerful Kusanagi sword, confronted Yamato no Orochi and attempted to slay the beast. However, even though Yamato no Orochi wasn't very powerful, the Kusanagi warrior was careless and not serious and so he got himself killed. Yamato no Orochi ate the sword and absorbed its tremendous power, so that he himself would become powerful.

"As he did this, a great wave of dark energy came from him and swept over the land, awakening the rest of the Nine Great Spirits.

"Thus the Bijuu Wars ensued. They all battled fiercely, with the greatest showdown occurring between the Kyuubi and Yamato no Orochi. They fought for a hundred years, nearly destroying all the land. The Kyuubi eventually won because of his unlimited power. The first, fourth, sixth and seventh tail Bijuus were sealed into separate containers of sorts eventually, like a pot, urn or kettle by powerful priests and warriors at separate times after this. The others except for the Niibi were left to roam the land, either because they were too powerful or they could not be found. The Niibi, or Nekomata as her real name is, was taken by her master, the Shinigami to his spirit palace since she was the Great Spirit of Darkness and Vengace when she was nearly killed in a fight with Yamato no Orochi.

"Once Nekomata had fully recovered, Shinigami returned her to the earth and by that time, the fight between the Kyuubi and Yamato no Orochi was over. She roamed the land freely, unnoticed for hundreds of years of years I guess until she was sealed in you." Yoshi finished that part looking at Hinata.

"As for the Kyuubi, after his final fight, he roamed the land as well, but kept to the wild most of the time since he knew that humans were too weak to wake him up. He searched and searched for the one who awoke him, never knowing that it was Yamato no Orochi.

"Then for some odd reason, he attacked Konoha and… here you are."

Silence enveloped over the trio as Naruto and Hinata absorbed what they had been told.

Naruto was the first to break the spell. "Is there a lot that you left out? Cause it sounds like it."

Hinata nodded in agreement.

"I gave you both only the bare bones of what you need to know. There is so much more to both your tales and the rest of the Bijuu that I must tell you, but only once you are more mature to handle the information. The ways that the legends will tie into today will shock you. One for instance, revolves around your beloved First Hokage. Have you ever wondered how he managed to have so many of the Bijuu under his control?"

The question was rhetorical, so it was left unanswered.

"He used to be a student of mine."

"WHAT?!" Naruto exploded and he was on his feet in that same instant.

"Yes he was. That's how that very crystal around your neck was and still is able to control nearly every spirit and demon alive. I helped him create it."

Both bemused by this new tale, Naruto sat back down next to Hinata both leaned slightly towards each other.

"I was quite surprised to see it again when I saw it around your neck, Naruto-kun. Yes, we had met by a great chance. He had stumbled upon this very cottage while soul searching when he was only a few years older that what both of you are now." He looked at them, eyebrows raised high and expectant. "But that is another story I'll finish later. It's getting late and you guys must be tired form today." He stood, stretched his arms over his head and gathered up all the dishes. "I'll take care of these. Good night." Yoshi finished with a smile.

The clack of the door as he went out snapped Naruto out of his deep state and his legs seemed to carry him automatically out of the cottage. Hinata follows him but he passed right by their new home and she watched him walk into the woods. "Where are you going?" she said.

"To think." He called over his shoulder. "Come with me." he added as an afterthought.

Confused as to why he wanted this, Hinata followed him. They walked through the woods again until they came to the place they had come before, where she had first accessed the Niibi. He sat on the same rock she had used then with his elbows on his knees and his hands folded in front of his mouth. She sat on a shorter one next to him, her hands in her lap.

They stayed like that, both staring out at the landscape. The night sky blurred the exact border where the mountain peaks speared the dark sheet above. The stars peered down like curious mice, a curiosity that mirrored Hinata's own. She drew line between the points of light and made pictures as she pondered what Naruto had heard in the legends that had silenced him so abruptly.

It wasn't long before she realized that she was tracing a fox in the stars. She squinched her eyes shut tight and opened them as she took a deep breath, then placed her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands.

Naruto still hadn't moved, but she figured he would come around eventually.

The moon slowly rose higher in the sky.

"Hina-chan," he started.

She jumped as bit at the sudden sound of her name, but more at what he had called her. "Yes?"

"What was it like, finding out you had a demon in you?" he questioned, eyes never leaving the mountains sprawled in front of them.

"Um…"

"Let me rephrase that." He closed his eyes. "When you found out that you were a Jinjuuriki like me," - his voice broke just then – "that you housed a Bijuu, how did you feel? What did you think of yourself? Did it change how you saw yourself? Did it explain a lot of unanswered questions you had?" He looked back up at the sky.

She looked at him skeptically but concerned at the same time. "Why the sudden thoughts?"

"I'm worried." His eyes dropped down to the round in front of them. "I don't know what to think of myself anymore. Listening to those legends brought me back to the time when Mizuki, our old Academy teacher, told me I was the Kyuubi and then Iruka told me I only housed the demon. Back then, I didn't know what to think of myself.

"On one hand, knowing that about me answered so many questions but it opened up a whole crap-load more. It answered why everyone shunned me and hated me. It answered why I was alone, why nobody had adopted me when I was living in the orphanage.

"And 'What should I consider myself as now?' I thought. 'Should I be Naruto or the nine-tailed demon fox?'"

Hinata could only watch as the young man in front of her began to fall apart, the tears falling thick and fast no matter how hard he tried to hold them back. "Naruto-kun-" she tried to say to comfort him, but the name didn't get past the lump that had formed in her throat.

"You probably didn't know what that was like. That big war inside yourself on what to believe, especially when you're only twelve. Cause, y'know, I wanted to destroy the whole village then. I wanted to kill everyone right then and there for treating me so badly over all those years for something that wasn't even my fault. I seriously was going to do that except for a few people like the Sandaime and this old guy that lived in the apartment next to me 'cause they were the only people ever in my entire life who had shown me any sort of kindness.

"But right now, I'm kinda glad that I decided I would stick with my old self and still become the next Hokage. Cause then I wouldn't have all these new friends. I wouldn't have my true, real family. I wouldn't have _you._

"I'm scared to think of what I would have done if I decided I was the Kyuubi. Would I be happier? Probably not. I really would have been a monster, one that only ever wanted to destroy and give payback. I would have killed all the good people, including you, which right now frightens me like you have no idea. You have no idea…" Naruto's voice carried off into silent sobs.

She wanted to say something. She desperately wanted to. But she was in no position to because when she found out she had the Niibi sealed inside her, she was not a child and she had a good sense of who she was. The only thing that she could do then was to accept it.

Hinata watched him shake with his low sobs. Surely it would be okay of she could comfort him? She climbed up onto the rock next to him. He automatically latched onto her, pressing his face into her neck. Startled but not entirely taken aback by this, she wrapped an arm around him and petted his unruly blond hair until his shaking stopped. "Shh…" she cooed and laid her head on his, breathing in his crushed pine needle-and-sunshine scent. "Shh." _It's okay Naruto-kun. Just don't cry._ Without thinking, she kissed his hair, but she didn't blush like she normally would have. "Shh." _Just don't cry.

* * *

_

"Docking in one hour." The voice from the loudspeaker droned. Then there was silence in the small inner room in the trade ship.

"Hey, Sasuke-san." Something soft hit his face. "Wake up."

He caught the soft lump before it hit him again. Sasuke sat up in the makeshift bed and drowsily opened his eyes, glaring at Haku's back to his left across the room. She was bent over something.

"I don't get how you lived by yourself for years Sasuke-san." she commented with disgust, shoving another shirt into a backpack.

"Did I ask you to become my maid?" came his low reply.

"No, but I can't help but notice you are a very messy person, especially when your belongings begin to mingle with mine." Haku threw something backwards at him. "You heard the announcer. Get dressed." He caught the balled up clothes before they hit his chest and changed quickly into them before she turned back around. "I'm almost done packing, so go get washed up while I finish."

"Hn." Sasuke groggily snorted. His feet shuffled across the wood floor as he went from Haku and his room to the men's bathroom down the hall. There he rinsed his face, neck and arms in the sink and dried himself with his shirt. He paused for a moment to take a good look at his self in the mirror.

Compared to when he had left his former village, he did look older. Any roundness in his face from when he was a child was gone. His jaw had squared off nicely and his cheeks had become more angular. The thing that had changed the most was his eyes. They were deep set and had dark circles all around, giving him a sort of gaunt look. His hair was longer too, even if Haku had given him a few haircuts over the time they were together and it was beginning to hang in his eyes again.

He stood back, shook out his jet-black locks, tucked a few odd strands back into their usual place and went back to the room. Haku handed his pack to him wordlessly and they walked out to the deck of the trade ship. They waited out the rest of the hour watching the sunrise before the ship docked.

As soon as they stepped off the gangway and onto the solid ground of the docks, a man who has been leaning on a telephone pole nearby approached the pair. He wore his Mist hitae-te tied around his head with a Mist version of the Chuunin vest and his forearms and right arm in bandages, while his left calf was surrounded by ninja netting. "Sasuke-san," he called, "that is you if I am not mistaken."

"You are correct." Sasuke replied with disinterest.

"And who is this?" The Nin looked at Haku next to him.

"She is coming with us." Sasuke defended harshly, eyes flashing. He stepped slightly in front of her, telling the Nin that she was part of the package, whether he like it or not.

He evidently got the message. "Very well, I will be your guide until we reach the Mizukage. Please, follow." He gestured to them.

A day and a half later, they came to a bridge that would lead them into a dense fog over a large lake. "Keep walking forward and don't veer off course. Otherwise, you'll get lost in the fog and die." the guide cautioned. The three, with the Mist Nin leading and the other two following a few feet behind, entered and marched though the mist. It wasn't long before they came out the other side.

Sasuke turned and looked back the way that they had come, interested as to what was so special about this fog. He saw nothing special, only the bridge and the other shore they had just left. A very clever, one way genjutsu.

He turned back around and was about a thousand or so multi-story buildings built into the side of a giant shallow pit, with the largest building in the center at the bottom. It was a humongous, skinny tower and had a large blue circle on the side with the character in the Old Language for 'water' in the center. Four wide roads sloped down to the center from each of the four cardinal compass points, themselves standing on the top of the western road.

The guide led them down the road to the center of the pit village. People went along on their daily lives, but glanced warily at eh newcomers as they went by. They ascended the steps of the central building, obviously the Mizukage's office building until they had reached the top. The guide knocked on the only door. "Mizukage-sama. I have some newcomers that would like permission to join our ranks."

Alarmed, Haku shot a look at Sasuke. This isn't what she had signed up for. He reassured her to play along with a glance and a nod of the head.

"Come in." came a deep voice from the other side of the door.

The guide opened the door and ushered the two others in. all eyes focused immediately on the man that was standing from behind his desk. He waved the Nin away and he disappeared in a quick cloud of smoke.

The Mizukage was a tall, lean man. He wore traditional armor from the time of the Third Ninja War with the character for 'water' emblazoned on his breastplate, just like his office building. He wore a mask decorated with swirling white and blue designs that centered around the one hole over his right eye. His long jet-black hair stuck out straight behind him and fell with its length, much like how Sasuke's hair was doing now.

"Sasuke, Haku, I have been waiting a long time for you two."

* * *

Goddamnit. It was so fucking cold. He and Hinata should have thought to put some insulation or something when they built this house back in the end of summer. The late fall snow had come harder than he would have imagined.

Of course, they were living up in the mountains, so it would get colder and snow earlier that it would back at the Uzumaki Mansion, only twenty or so miles from the sea. Talk about a climate change. Well at least it taught him to plan ahead.

Naruto rolled onto his other side. He was wrapped up in four blankets and he was still cold. The cold wasn't letting him sleep. He would have to talk to Yoshi tomorrow about getting that insulation in.

For now though, all he could do was to try to fall back asleep. He rolled back over, closed his eyes and sighed. He thought of snow. Thought of it like a big, fluffy, white blanket of down that would keep him warm. Meh. It wasn't working.

_Kimi wo suki ni natte_

He started. Who was singing?

_Dorekurai tatsu no kana?_

Whoever it was, they had a nice voice. What? It was coming from the other side of the cottage?

_Kimochi fukurande yuku bakari de_

His eyes flew open. Hinata? Was that her singing?

_Kimi wa kono omoi kidzuiteiru no kana?_

One of the sliding doors to her room was open a crack. He peeked through it.

_Ichido mo kotoba ni wa shitenai kedo_

Yes that was her. She was leaning against the opposite wall wrapped up in her blankets with a door to the outside a crack open next to her, and she was staring out it. Her long hair was not done up in its usual twin tails and it cascaded down her front and back. She was singing softly to herself with the most longing expression he had ever seen on her.

_Yuki no youni tada shizukani_

_Furitsumori tsudzukete yuku_

_Hold me tight konna omoi nara _

_dareka wo suki ni naru kimochi_

_shiritaku nakatta yo_

_I love you namida tomaranai_

_konnanja kimi no koto_

_shirazuni ireba yokatta yo_

_Kimi wo itsumade omotteiru no kana?_

_Tameiki ga mado garasu kumoraseta_

She let the last lyric drift off, then sighed, "Naruto-kun…"

Oh my god. Did she just…?

Hinata buried her face in her hands. "Naruto-kun." she said again to herself.

No way. There was no way in hell she had just sung a song about him. Even if it was in the Old Language, he had understood every single word perfectly.

If he was correct when he put two and two together, Hinata… was… in love with him.

Just…like…he was in love with her.

Silently, he backed away from the crack and curled up into a ball. He pinched himself to see if he was dreaming. Apparently he wasn't.

He was pretty sure that his feelings towards her were love. So there was no mistake there. But now Hinata…? He thought her feelings towards him were just that of very good friends. But now… she was in love with him.

These next few weeks, maybe even days were going to be one hell of a ride for them both.

"Daisuki Naruto-kun."

His world had just been turned upside-down by this girl for the second time in his life as she said those words.

* * *

"Naruto-kun, could you and Kyuu-kun help me practice a bit with Nekomata after we're done with these dishes?" Hinata said. Kyuu-kun was the pet name she had given Kyuubi after talking with him once in Naruto's mind. He seemed like a pretty nice Bijuu despite what Naruto had said about him being sadistic before.

"Erm, no I'm p-pretty tired right now. I think I'm going to bed after these. Y-yeah." He blushed faintly when their arms touched when she handed him a bowl to be dried.

She gave him a frustrated look. He was doing this a lot now, for the past week and half to be exact. It reminded her of that rough month after their trip with Izumi when she avoided him because she was scared of the Kyuubi before she knew that he had him sealed in him. He was hiding something then. What he hiding something now?

She would confront him after they were done with this and find out what his problem was.

They finished the dishes without another word between them. "Goodnight." Naruto mumbled quickly and darted out the door to their little cottage.

She stood there with her arms crossed for a moment to give him a head start and then followed him into the snow, determination clear on her face.

Yoshi grinned from the corner where he was writing on a scroll. This was going to interesting.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata's tone had a resolution in it.

* * *

**A/N: Yesh. :3 the time has come for them. I knew you all would love me...I think... DX**

**Here's the English translation lyrics for song "Eternal Snow" by Changin' My Life (the song that Hinata sings)**

_**I'm falling in love with you**_

_**And which will come to pass?**_

_**Will the feeling do nothing but swell**_

_**Or will you notice it**_

_**Even though I've never said anything?**_

_**Like snow, but quietly**_

_**It continues to pile up**_

_**Hold me tight if I think like this**_

_**I didn't want to know**_

_**What it was like to fall in love with someone**_

_**I love you: my tears won't stop**_

_**Therefore, I should be free of you**_

_**How long will I keep thinking of you?**_

_**My sigh makes the window glass fog up**_

**It's cute no? That's another scene that I've been waiting a loooooong time to stick in this story. I thought it would be... appropriate XD. Kyaaa, I cant wait to write the next chapter!!! X3**

**Oh, and "Daisuki Naruto-kun." means "I love you, Naruto-kun."  
**

**Ahh~~ now I can go relax on a beach somewhere....**

**IBP**

**Next Chapter: I think we all know what happens.  
**


	23. Educated Guesses

**A/N: Hullo!**

**This should have been up a week ago, but alas, my parents dragged me off to Glacier National Park to go hiking for a week and a half. It was fun and stuff but this stupid chapter had me kinda axious cause it was done but i coudln't put it up becasue I didn't have acess to a computer. DX**

**Thanks to all for who suggested Mangas. I am quite obsessed now :)**

* * *

**Chapter 23 – Educated Guesses**

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata called again. Frustration and determination colored every part of her voice.

He was about to open the door to their cottage when his head jerked up to face her. "I really am sorry, Hinata-chan. I'm really tired 'cause Kyuubi is-" He stopped as he realized that was not what she wanted to know.

She sauntered like a feline on the prowl up to him and stopped in front of him, sandwiching him between the cottage and her body. Her stance, with her hips cocked, told him she wasn't going to be violent with him…for now, at least.

What had he done to upset her so badly? There was nothing that he could remember. Crap…crap…crap. Naruto looked up from the ground to meet her eyes for a second…bad idea. She looked gloriously furious, beautifully angry. He waited for her verdict.

Hinata stared him down. Of course she loved him with all her heart and wanted to be with him, but right now, as he looked at his feet like a child who was caught with his hand in the cookie jar, she couldn't help but be very, VERY annoyed with him. He had done a complete one-eighty in the past week and a half, going from his usual positive, caring, free-spirited self that she had always known to a withdrawn, nervous sort of person. The changes were small and a regular person would not have noticed them, but she had known him and been alone with him for almost three years now, so these changes were pretty obvious to her. If he thought that she wouldn't notice them, he was dead wrong.

The silence between them drew out into an awkward moment.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata said.

"What?" he mumbled.

A direct question would be best, she decided. "Why have you been avoiding me?"

He didn't answer.

"Did I do something?" she probed. An edge of worry crept into her voice.

"No…" _Yes. You let me know that you love me, just like I love you._

"Then what?" She bent down and tried to make eye contact with him.

"I…" He leaned back against the storm door on their cottage and covered his face with his hands.

"Yes?" she urged. Her heart began to beat faster. She almost had it out of him now.

"I…I…" Then he mumbled something unintelligible.

"What?" Hinata took one of his hands off his face and held it in her own. His other hand moved from his face to the back of his head and he grabbed a fistful of hair.

His eyes snapped up to meet hers. She flinched as she saw the fierce conviction in the deep blue of them.

"I'm in love with you, Hinata, totally and completely in love with you."

She took a small step back, confused, surprised and completely exhilarated by his sudden confession.

And despite the situation, Hinata broke down into a fit of hysterical laughter.

Naruto's face quickly turned red. "I…I confess myself and… this is how you react?" he grumbled.

"Hahaha…ahahaha…aha…" Hinata wiped her eyes and smiled in that special way that would light up a room. "Gomen, Naruto-kun, it's just that…aha…" She leaned her back on the storm door next to him. "I never in my life thought I would ever hear you say that. Never." She shook her head and grinned as she said it.

He stepped hesitantly in front of her. "Wait, does that mean you don't…? But I heard you sing…" He looked back down in the vicinity of her knees.

She looked shocked. "You heard that?" Hinata quickly played through here memory of that night to see if there was any sign she had seen or heard that he was awake then. She didn't find any.

"Yeah." His voice was husky.

She tipped his chin up so he would look at her. Lavender locked with deep blue again. "Every single word of it was true. I've been in love with you since the Academy days. You were everything I wasn't. You were loud, you were talented, you were confident, and most of all, even though people didn't care what you said, you were _heard_. Remember? I was the quiet, average, weird girl who-"

He suddenly swept her up into a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you. Thank you." he whispered with relief in her ear.

She was caught off guard again, but soon returned his embrace, relaxing into it, closing her eyes and smiling as she did so.

"Ano, Hina-chan…" He loosened his arms around her but kept one wrapped around her waist and cupped her face with his other. "Will you, um…" He looked away and blushed. He tried again. "Will you become my girlfriend?"

She looked up into his face and her eyes softened, a small smile forming on her lips. She reached up and wrapped an arm around his neck and the other hand brought his head down. She kissed his forehead then laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes.

It came as a whisper, only for him. "Yes."

It was quite convenient now that her head fit perfectly underneath his chin, as it did so. He hugged her tightly, a million unspoken words now not ever needing to be said.

"Hey," he whispered again.

She pulled back and looked at him quizzically.

"One thing I want you to know," he began to say softly, "and I swear these words, I won't let this go. Ever. Hah, I know this sounds corny, but I just realized that I'm nothing without you. We affect each other too much for both our own damn good."

Hinata giggled. It was pretty corny, but it was true all the same as she realized it too.

He smiled down at the beautiful angel in his arms and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you Hina-chan."

Her face automatically lifted into that perfect smile he melted at again. "I love you too, Naruto-kun."

* * *

Gaara knocked on the door to the Hokage's office while tightly holding Sakura's hand next to him. This was the norm now after nearly losing her forever.

Sounds of a hasty movement came from inside and Sakura grimaced. Tsunade was probably drinking again. Then, "Come in."

Gaara opened the door for Sakura and closed it behind him once she was in. Tsunade welcomed them. "Please, sit." She gestured to the two seats in front of her desk and they sat. "Gaara-san, have you contacted your village yet?"

"Yes, I have. I did as soon as she was out of danger," he glanced at Sakura, "and I explained my absence and that I would be gone for another week since she is nearly completely healed."

"Good." The conversation pleasantly drifted from topic to topic and Shizune, Tsunade's personal assistant brought in tea at one point.

"So, where is Naruto-san and Sasuke-san?" Gaara asked.

"Naruto left on a five year training trip with Hyuuga Hinata almost three years ago, about three weeks after the end of the Chuunin Exams. Sauske has defected from the village, however. When we realized that he was gone, two days had already passed so there was no hope for the hunter nins to trail him."

It felt like the bottom of Sakura's stomach had dropped out. "What do you mean, 'defected'? Like he just up and left?" Her voice had a slight quiver to it.

"Yeah, we don't know why. He didn't leave a note in his house or anything. As soon as we realized he had left, we sent out messages to all the towns and villages in Fire Country asking for his capture with a reward. We also put him in the Bingo Book to see if that would help as well. There haven't been any reports at all that he has been sighted. However, four months ago," Tsunade paused, opened a drawer to her desk and pulled out a map and unrolled it across her desk, "a team of Chuunins coming home from an out of country mission found a whole gang of seventeen people dead in the middle of the forest. They reported that they found them right about here," she pointed to a spot on the map, "right near the border of Rice Country and Fire Country. They scavenged the supplies on the bodies and one of the Nins found a wanted poster for Sasuke clutched in his hand. The gang had been killed using kunai and senbon from the wounds they had suffered since the weapons were retrieved. Some members were even burned to death.

"From this evidence, we theorized that the gang attacked Sasuke to get him for the reward, but he defeated them. Apparently, he has an accomplice too since we know he doesn't use senbon unless he was taught how to use them by someone, but this is highly unlikely with the reward out there." She waved a hand lazily. "This is all speculation anyways. This might not even be true. But unfortunately, it's the best news we have about him."

Sakura stared at the place on the map where the slaughter had apparently taken place. "I don't get it…Why would he leave? Why would do something like that? He still had Kakashi-sensei here and a bunch of the other "Rookie Nine" like: Shikamaru, Kiba, Chouji, Shino…" Gaara squeezed her hand.

"My guesses at his motives are as good as yours Sakura-san. He…" She trailed off when she took in the new expression on the girl's face. "What is it?"

"Itachi. That has to be it. That has to be the reason he left." She saw Tsunade furrow her brow as she considered that.

"Sakura-san, who is Itachi?" Gaara tried his words carefully.

She took a deep breath. "Itachi was Sasuke's older brother. When Sasuke was eight, Itachi killed everyone his own clan, the Uchiha clan. Everyone except Sasuke, that is. Ever since, Sasuke was always trying to become stronger so he could find Itachi and kill him to have revenge for killing his mother and father and everyone else that mattered to him."

"Itachi now is a member of Akatsuki." said Tsunade. "He has been for a long time now."

"He has become powerful indeed if he has joined them." agreed Gaara.

"He has a long way to go before he gets powerful enough to be a match for Itachi." said Sakura solemnly.

"Which brings me to another point." Gaara turned his gaze to Tsunade. "Do you have any information on Akatsuki? With the remaining time I have left here, I would like to copy it."

"Why?"

"Ever since you finished healing Sakura," – he squeezed her hand again, - "I have been thinking about that organization and would like to investigate them. They will come again to capture my Bijuu and I would like to be prepared when they do. Aside from collecting the Nine Bijuu of Legend, I would like to know what their other motives are if that is not their real one. If I do discover it, I would like to prepare myself and… other people just in case we do face them in the near future."

Tsunade knew he was referring to Naruto.

* * *

"I am sorry that we are late, Pain-sama." Kakazu said as he and Hidan projected themselves into the cave. They were the last members of Akatsuki to arrive to the meeting. "We just turned in another wanted man and received 50,000 ryu for him."

"That is fine Kakazu. Send it as soon as possible." the projection of the man called Pain said. He looked around. "Saisori, where is Deidara?"

"He was arrogant and got himself killed when trying to capture the Ichibi."

"Go and capture him within the next year. We will need him soon." Pain's eyes switched to the spot that was filled next to Saisori. "Who are you?"

The person in question was no doubt a male, with broad shoulders and a flat chest. His hair was cut very short and he wore a black body suit with overlapping armor on his arms and screws printed on his sleeves at his elbows and shoulders. His mask was bright orange with black lines that swirled into the hole over his right eye.

"Please, Pain-sama, I tried to discourage him from attending but he persisted anyways." Saisori cut in. "He's an idiot who wants to join us."

His voice was unnaturally high pitched for a man. "My name is Tobi and I wanna join you guys now that you're one short. Can I? Please? Tobi is a good boy."

"What are your abilities?"

"Um, well, I'm a good fighter, I'm really good at fire jutsus and I can sort of rematerialize too. As in instantly disappear."

"Fine. You're in."

"But sir-" Saisori tried to say.

"He is with us, Saisori." Pain commanded. "What about the Niibi? Have you found her yet?"

"No." Hidan replied this time. "Well, sort of I think. I felt a fucking huge blast of demon energy south-west of where Kakazu and I were searching in Lightning Country. He didn't feel it but I sure did. I had a feeling that we should follow it and we did, all the way back to where the residual chakra was most concentrated. It was in a small, shitty town near the Sand-Rock border on the Rock side. It happened in the only inn in town but nobody noticed it 'cause nobody can sense demon chakra like we can because we have been exposed to it all the damn time.

"Apparently, after I threatened the inn keeper, he told me an old woman, a blond teen and his dark haired girl friend had stopped on the day that the blast happened. Then they left immediately after it happened 'cause they checked out the same night. The old woman had long gray hair that still had red in it, the blond teen had blue eyes and three whisker marks on each cheek and the girl had long dark hair, pale skin and whitish-purple eyes."

"The boy was Uzumaki Naruto, Jinjuuriki of the Kyuubi." Itachi had remained silent up until now.

"How do you know this, Itachi-san?" Pain questioned.

"I've seen Naruto before. Back when I used to play the older brother before I left Konoha, I saw Naruto a few times when I picked Sasuke up from the Academy when I didn't have a mission. The description fits him perfectly. As for the older woman, I do not have a guess."

"And the girl?"

"A Hyuuga. No other clan has those color eyes. If she was around the same age as Naruto, then I would say Hyuuga Hinata. She was in the same Academy class as my younger brother as well."

"There's more to my goddamn story, you know." Hidan grumbled.

"Fine then, continue."

"Once they checked out and the old woman had left, he looked out the door to see why she had left in such a hurry. He saw this Naruto kid carrying the Hinata girl as he and the old lady ran out of the town. That's all."

There was a pause before the dark half of Zetsu spoke. "The girl has the Niibi in her."

"It would seem so." Pain agreed. "An unrecorded Jinjuuriki. For a Bijuu that was still presumed to be free in the world. Hmph. I knew there was something more to that one than what we already knew. Good job Hidan. Now we know who has each Bijuu in them if we haven't captured them yet since the Niibi was the only one we could not find."

* * *

"Bah. I hate those meetings. They're very stiff."

Itachi didn't reply to his partner's comment.

"Who was that Tobi guy anyways? He was weird. Hmph. Doesn't matter it's Pain decision anyway, not ours."

More silence came from the Uchiha.

"Hey, I wasn't sure if I should say this to the rest of the organization or not just then," Kisame stood up from the rock that he was sitting on, "but my spy within Mist village reported to me that a young man by the name of Sasuke has become the Mizukage's apprentice. It's your brother, no doubt."

Itachi didn't reply right away. "If the path he has chosen is to study is under that blood-stained man, then so be it."

* * *

"Very good, Sasuke." The Mizukage praised. He stood in the middle of a training field just south of the Mist village. "Now, electrocute the cat that I penned up over there. Shock it enough so that it is just on the brink of death."

Sasuke aimed the electricity in his hand a hundred feet or so to his left and zapped the tawny housecat that meowed as it paced along the length of the chain link fence. It gave one last screech before it fell on its side, motionless. A whiff of burnt fur came a second later.

The Mizukage, named Darama as Sasuke had found out soon after his and Haku's arrival, had taken in Sasuke warmly and even began to teach him soon after Sasuke confessed his need for revenge. He had started with teaching Lightning techniques, since that was one of Sasuke's elemental affinities. Sasuke was now learning how to increase the range of the Chidori that his former sensei had taught him for the Chuunin exams and to shape it into bolts and how to use it to surround a held object to make it an instant weapon.

Sasuke walked over to the cat. He checked it for a pulse but found none and frowned at himself. "Dead." he reported.

"Sasuke," Darama sighed, "how many times do we have to try to get this right?"

"Sensei, with all due respect and thanks to the power you have given me so far, I don't see how leaving an enemy alive but incapacitated will be beneficial." Sasuke said as he stood up.

"Come here." Sasuke did as he was told and stood in front of his sensei. "If you paralyze your brother, he can't fight back. He cannot move, not even lift a finger to help himself. He can't do anything. He must watch you draw out his death, slowly and painfully if you so desire. You can get every single drop of satisfaction that you wish from killing him this way. And, you can stop your enemies without killing them if you so desire too." He added the last part as an afterthought, as if it justified the action.

"Yes, sensei."

Sasuke, even if his teacher's techniques seemed rudimentary at first, felt the power growing within him. His ability to use his Sharingan increased even if he had gained the last tomoe years ago. On top of that, he had learned how to control an already very powerful move and had learned quite a few other powerful ones.

What had seemed slightly odd at first about this training was that Darama insisted on using real live animals as targets and tests for the new jutsus. He gauged Sasuke's success at the technique based on how alive the Mizukage wanted it and how much life was actually left in the creature.

"It is so you won't have to hesitate about killing a person when you must." he had explained when Sasuke had asked about it. "You don't want to be frozen with fear when you have that split second window, do you?"

Haku, on the other hand, disapproved of this method and his reasoning. The last time Sasuke and her had talked was about that exact topic. The argument was not exactly easy for him to digest.

"I don't like it, Sasuke-san." she had said. "It's wrong."

"Why? There are plenty of other animals to replace the one that I kill." He looked the other way down the street disinterestedly. They were sitting in adjacent trees in a small park near the apartment building where they lived. They each had their own room there, next to each other.

Her voice and expression grew hard. "Come out of your rock hard, arrogant head for a second. Imagine the animal you're using is a human being. A hardworking father, trying to feed his three children for instance. Does your compassion change?"

"No. It's just a _bird_ Haku-san. Jeez, why do you have to get so worked up over this? There's a billion and more of them in this world." he sighed.

"Well, maybe that bird _was_ a hardworking father, trying to feed his three baby chicks in his mate's nest, but was unlucky and got caught by the Mizukage when looking for food for them. What will happen to the baby birds now that their father is gone? Especially if the mother died as well! Maybe you killed her last week or something! Now the babies are starving and will die soon because they can't get any food!"

The truths she spoke made him uncomfortable. He really didn't think about the consequences of killing the bird. Oh great, now he was worried about three little baby birds alone in the forest, slowly dying of hunger.

"So just think about that for a second, baka. Be smart. What if we were the little test animals of some greater beasts? That'll put in perspective for you." She slid off the tree branch she was sitting on and landed smoothly on the ground. "Talk to me again when you get what I'm trying to tell you." she said over her shoulder as she walked away.

He wanted to tell her something that would make her stop but he bit his tongue as he watched her back disappear. It was some minutes before he had jumped down too and followed her.

He had lain in bed most of the night thinking about what she had said. The red numbers of his alarm clock told him it was four thirty in the morning and he still hadn't gotten an answer for her.

It was now a few weeks after that. He now understood what she had meant but up until now, his pride refused to let him give in first and tell her. Tonight, he would give her his answer.

He knocked on her apartment door and waited. A moment later, when he received only silence he called out her name. "Haku-san?"

There still was no answer to her door. He grumbled to himself and went back to his apartment and grabbed his copy of her apartment key. They had made duplicate keys and given them to each other as a sign of mutual trust.

Sasuke let himself in and walked immediately to the low table in the center since there was a single piece of paper on it. It was a note to him, dated two days prior.

_Sasuke-san,_

_I am on a mission. I will be back in a week or so. If you came here looking to give me an answer, great. Hang onto it until I get back. If not, don't steal my food or you'll suffer the consequences. _

_Haku-san_

He grumbled again. Well, this was just his luck. Who knows when his pride will come down enough again to let him say this?

He crumpled up the note and threw it in the trash to leave proof that he was here when she got back in five days. Then he stepped out and locked up her apartment.

Returning to his place, he took a shower, dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, draped his towel around his neck and grabbed the milk carton out of the fridge. For the next hour, he finished the carton while sprawled on the couch and trying to pay attention to the TV. Unfortunately, all he could think about was Haku and his stupid timing.

Annoyed, he switched the TV off, threw the finished carton in the trash and jumped onto his bed, hands behind his head. He had quite a time trying to fall asleep.

His morning was not so good either, as the milk had gone bad a few days before.

* * *

**A/N: So now the REAL story is set in motion. I can't wait to write out the rest of it. X]**

**And was that NOT the best NaruHina confession scene you have EVER read?!?!??!?!??!??!!!!?!//1/1/1/ As I was writing the last part of that scene, my iPod began playing "With Me" by Sum 41. Gahhh I love that song. So I threw in those awkward lines. haha. YAY FOR CORNY.**

**I kid, I kid about that. I'm getting full of myself. -slaps self-  
**

**Until next time, **

**IBP**

**Nex Chapter: A little mystery is unraveled, bringing to light many things that should never be said.**


	24. Bloody Bloody Memory

**A/N: I've been drawing a lot. Hurr. Delays and distractions abound. :B I got Art Student of the Month in my school for September, so I'm pretty happy right now.**

**Does anyone know the Silversun Pickups? I've recently become obsessed with their music. :D**

**There's a little something extra at the end as an apology for this chap being so late: THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE NARUHINA CONFESSION SCENE O.O Have fun with that.**

**Read and review, as always! :)  
**

* * *

**Chapter 24 – Bloody Bloody Memory**

Because it was so late at night and she was so tired, Haku fumbled with her apartment key a bit before it finally went into the lock the right way. She turned the key and locked it behind her again behind her once she was in. She unceremoniously dropped her pack on the floor and made a beeline for the couch, too exhausted to even walk to her bed in the next room. The couch was hard but warm, and it even cursed at her as she threw herself on it. She grabbed around for a pillow but for some reason, she grabbed a fistful of long hair that did not belong to her.

"Haku! What the hell?!" the couch protested again.

Oh. Sasuke was on her couch.

…

Wait.

Sasuke was on her couch?

Realizing she wasn't exactly in a ladylike position on him, Haku tried to get up off of him but only succeeded in falling onto the floor with a yelp.

Sasuke swung his legs off the couch and sat up, holding his stomach and massaging his head where she had grabbed his hair hard. "What was that for?" he groaned. "You fucking crushed me."

She got up off the floor. "Well, what the hell are you doing in my apartment? You don't even live here."

He looked at the floor, knowing she was right. He decided to tell the truth. "I wanted to give you my answer."

Haku's stance and expression softened. He really had wanted to tell her this bad? "Well that going to have to wait until morning. I can't scold you the right way when I feel half dead."

He must have felt the same way because he left her apartment without another word.

Sasuke came back the next morning just as she was eating breakfast.

"Sasuke-san, if that's you, just let yourself in." she called from the table.

The door opened and closed down the short hallway around the corner from the kitchen. Sasuke sat down next to her and silently watched her finish her breakfast of cold cereal and milk. He started when she got up to wash her bowl. "Is now a good time?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, now is a good time."

"My answer is that all life should be respected and that just because animals aren't as smart as humans doesn't mean that they can be used as tools for our benefit."

Haku put her bowl and spoon on a dish towel next to the sink. "Exactly. If you don't have that mindset, idiot, then you will become a sick and twisted being and I don't want to see you ever become like that. Those people are the vilest to ever walk the earth and become villains because they will stop at nothing to accomplish what they want." She stood in front of him with her arms crossed. "Is that what you want? To be a villain? To be the bad guy?"

"If it allows me to have my revenge on my brother, then ye-"

"Goddamnit!" Haku threw her arms up and walked away. "It's always revenge with you! Revenge revenge revenge!" She shook her hand out in front of her at him, palms up. "Don't you get it? You will _become_ your brother that way. You will be the _same_."

Sasuke stood up so fast that his chair fell over backwards "Don't you _ever_ compare me to my brother. We will never, and I promise _never, _ be the same." His eyes burned with rage.

"Well if you keep on believing what the damn Mizukage says and training like how you are with him, then you eventually will be just like him, a cold-blooded killer!" Her voice had an edge of hysteria as she walked to the door.

He followed her. "I swear I will never become a monster like him."

"That's great! Ask your sensei to teach you some other way." She opened the door.

He snatched her wrist. "Where do you think you're going?" he growled.

Haku shook him off. "I'm just getting the mail, sheesh."

"How can I ask that of him? I have to respect him." Sasuke descended down the stairs with her to the lobby.

"You sure don't respect Kakashi-san,"- she saw him flinch at the name – "and he's your old teacher too."

Sasuke looked away, silenced by her comment.

She opened the box in the wall that had her apartment number on it, took out the single small scroll that lay inside it and began to read.

Sasuke checked his own box and found a single small envelope. He tore it open.

_To: Uchiha Sasuke_

_From: Unknown_

_Received via: messenger hawk_

_Message: Help me help you._

What did that mean? Sasuke frowned and shoved the message in his back pocket for future refrence. He would speculate who it came from and what "Help me help you" meant later. He looked back at Haku, and her new expression worried him. "What is it? What does it say?"

"The Mizukage wants me to come to his office today." She said as she rolled her scroll back up. "I had just gotten back from a mission too." She complained.

They went back up the stairs and went back into their separate apartments where Haku changed into something more appropriate for a meeting with the Mizukage. She was surprised when Sasuke was standing in her doorway when she opened the door to leave. She sighed. "What do you want now?"

"I'm coming with you."

She closed the door behind her and walked down the hall. "Why?"

"I'm curious." was all he said.

Five minutes later, they were in the Mizukage's office, which also had his secretary there sitting in a chair with a notepad and pen on her lap. Both Sasuke and Haku bowed to the masked man standing in front and leaning backwards on his desk, arms folded. "What is it, Mizukage-sama? Why have you called me?" The slightest bit of irritation showed through Haku's voice.

"That is true that I called you here, but why are you here Sasuke-san? I did not request you."

Sasuke gave a slight bow again. "I was interested in what the Mizukage had to say to my comrade the day after she returned from a mission. That is all."

The Mizukage turned back to Haku without another word to Sasuke. Evidently, his reason was valid. "I have called you here because while you were on your mission, I was looking through your file. Here in the Village Hidden in the Mist, we require a history of all shinobi and kunochi, which remains confidential unless needed for some purpose. There is no history record in your file, so I just want to rectify that. Nothing more." He said lightly and waved a hand.

"Although my name is Momochi Haku, I have no blood relation to Momochi Zabuza. He found me as an orphan on the streets and took to me and began to teach me the ways of the ninja." She said no more, as of the words burdened her.

"And? There must be more to this tale. Do you remember how you became an orphan?" the Kage prodded.

"I was born in a small village in the Mist, near the mountains. My mother and father loved me dearly since I was their only child, but we were poor farmers and we could barely afford milk and rice.

"One day, I discovered I could control water. I showed this to my mother, holding the water in midair in my hands but she quickly knocked it down and told me to never do that again. Unfortunately, we lived in the time when bloodlines were outlawed and such people were hated and killed because of the Fourth Mizukage's law. My father saw me show my mother and he immediately marched over to her and I watched him beat her to the ground with a shovel. Then he turned to me, but I ran as far and as feast as I could. He caught up with me and was about to strangle me when I suddenly froze him with ice. And then I ran away."

The _scritch scritch scritch_ of pencil on paper continued for about a minute or so as the secretary wrote down her story. "Thank you." he said when she was done. "You may leave."

"The second part of your story sounded slightly fake." Sasuke said once they were out on the street.

"You're right. That's 'cause it is."

"You lied to the Mizukage?" His voice was calculating.

There was a moment of silence before; "There's a reason."

"Goddamnit Haku, there's always a reason."

"You want to know?"

"Yes."

She took a deep breath. "I trust you enough to do this but you must swear you will never repeat this to anybody, even if an enemy has you at knife-point."

Her heart skipped a beat when he looked her straight in the eyes and nodded.

Haku took another deep breath and began her tale.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Shiroi-nee-chan!" A little boy who could pass for five years old ran through the snow, over to the girl his same height and who also had the same hair color.

"What is it Haku-nee-san?" Shiroi asked her brother as she continued to play dress-up with her doll in the three-walled tool shed.

He grabbed her hand. "Come to the river with me. I wanna show you something cool."

They ran to the "river," which was only a small stream that ran through the patch of trees that had lost their leaves for the winter. Haku carefully bent down to the streams surface and scooped up some water with both hands. He grinned. "Watch this."

The water in his hands began to float and write in the air.

"Wow Nee-san! How'd ya do that?!"

He let the water splash onto his hands. "I dunno, but maybe you can do it since we're twins."

"Lemme try." Shiroi scooped up some water. "Now what do I do?"

Haku stared at the water in his sister's hands. "I dunno how to explain it. I just… I dunno I pushed my energy into it and kept it there and then it floated."

She looked from her brother to the water in her hands and focused intently upon it, a crease forming between her small brows. She tried to do what Haku had said with the energy, but nothing happened. "I can't do it." She complained.

"Just try again!" he encouraged. "It took me a few tries too."

Shiroi focused again and the water shuddered violently this time. She was so surprised that she let the water slip through her fingers and onto the snow. Her astonished eyes met her brothers.

"See? You can do it too! You just gotta practice some more."

They grinned at each other and she scooped up more water and tried again and again until their mother came looking for them.

"Shiroi! Haku! Supper time!" she called.

At this point, Shiroi could barely lift the water out of her hands. "You think we should show Okaa-sama?" she whispered.

He shook his head. "Not until you get better okay?"

She pouted a bit but agreed. She wanted to impress her mother as much as possible.

Days later, it was time. The twins decided to show their parents right before lunchtime. However, Haku became too impatient while they waited for their father to come in from the rice fields.

"Okaa-sama, look what me and Shiroi-chan can do!" Haku looked at his sister. "One,-"

"-Two-"

"-Three!" Both children presented their mother with floating blobs of water.

Her eyes shot open and she slapped down both sets of hands. The water splashed onto the floor. "Never ever do that again." She whispered coldly, looking both of them in the eye. "Do you understand?"

The floorboards creaked and she looked up, freezing in place with a jolt. Shiroi and Haku looked around to see their father standing in the doorway with a burning hatred clear on his face.

"You never told me," he began, his voice seething with rage, "that you had a bloodline." He took a step forward, his heavy boots clunking on the floor. "Freak." he spat. "Vermin. Traitor."

The pots on the wall clanged as their mother backed up into them, never taking he eyes off her husband as he advanced. "I-I'm sorry I h-hid it – I-I thought i-it wouldn't m-matter if I n-never told you about-"

"LIKE HELL IT DOES MATTER!" he roared, grabbing her shirt and pinning her against the wall. "You know the law by the Mizukage! All people with bloodlines are freak and therefore should be killed! I can't believe I married a creature like you!"

The children's feet were glued to the floor by the horror that was their father. It was only greatened when he began to punch every inch of their mother that he could reach.

"Outou-s-… Daddy!" Haku screamed. "Stop hurting Mommy! She didn't do anything wrong!"

He turned to his only son and released his hold on his wife, who slid to the floor, drenched in her own blood and unconscious. He picked up Haku with one hand. The boy began to struggle helplessly. "And to think I fathered vermin like you."

"Stop it Daddy! You don't mean it! I love you Daddy! Stop! St-"

His cries were silenced forever by a hard fist slamming into his face.

Only when her brother's body crumpled into a pile when it hit the floor did Shiroi fid the strength to make her legs move. She fled from the cottage she called home through the snow. The terror of her father propelled her running like she had never run before. She tripped over something hidden in the snow and curled up, ignoring the bitter cold nipping at her nose, cheeks and ears, wanting only to cry away the images she had just witnessed.

A shadow stood over her. The heavy breathing told her it was him. Shiroi rolled over to see his hands reaching down to her throat.

"No Daddy…" she whimpered helplessly. "No…please…" His cold hands constricted around her neck, determined to take away every last bit of life she had. Her small fingers tugged at his grip, her legs beginning to thrash and kick beneath him. It was no use. She thrust her hands in front of her, closed her eyes and screamed with her remaining breath, "STOP!"

Something clicked inside her, unlocking.

The sound of something crackling came from above her and she felt her father's grip slacken and grow freezing cold. She opened her eyes and saw him completely encased in ice. Startled, she scrambled away from him and a hand came up to her mouth in shock, surprise and horror. Shiroi stared at her palms. Had she frozen him?

She would not go back to the house. Only nightmares remained there. She would run far, far away, where these demons could not catch her. She would run far, far away and never return.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was winter again, so much like that other one.

Shiroi sat against the railing of a bridge that led into a city. Hunger ate away at her insides, and the coldness nipped at her body, threatening to take her thinly clad toes and fingers with it.

A man passed by. "Please sir," she started, getting up to beg from him, "Do you have any change you could spare?"

He regarded her out of the corner of his eye for a moment and kept on walking.

Shiroi sat back against the wall again and hugged her legs to her chest, laying her forhead on her knees to conserve body heat. More footsteps came a few minutes later, coming her way. She warily looked up.

A man with black, white and gray military print pants and forearm covers with bandages all over his face and a shinobi hitae-te tied sideways around his head came walking down the road. He was slightly scary looking, but she could try…

"Please sir, do you have any change you could spare?"

He stopped and looked down at her. Shiroi had the weird feeling of being x-rayed for something.

Just when she thought he was going to walk away, the stranger offered his hand. His deep voice rumbled out one word.

"Come."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"And that's when I started traveling with Zabuza." Haku finished.

Silence enveloped Sasuke. He now sat in one of her armchairs, while she sat cross-legged on the couch.

"Why did you change your name to your brothers?" he finally said.

She paused, hesitating to tell. "It was to honor him," and then more quietly, "and to protect myself."

"Protect?"

"If nobody knows my real name, then nobody knows the real me, and I can break away from them without this big gaping hole in me."

"What if you broke away from me?"

She looked away from him, down to the floor, her cheeks going slightly red. This was a dangerous personal question.

"What does it matter to you?" she countered, sidestepping his query.

The bastard smirked with a twinkle in his eye. "I'm curious."

She snapped her eyes up to meet his in a vicious glare. "Fuck you." she huffed.

His grin only grew wider. "I think you would miss me, more than you would like to admit."

"Alright, so what if I would?!" She threw her arms up above her. She continued to glare as he got up and came to sit down next to her. "Why does it matter to you?" she asked again, though changing the meaning slightly.

"You know, Haku, you're pretty good at a lot of things.

She continued to shoot daggers in his direction. "And?"

"Dealing with me is probably the best. Putting up with all my shit, I thought you might leave at first."

"So what, you want me to leave now?"

A peculiar look came into Sasuke's dark eyes. "No," he said, his voice low, "I like having you around. I want you to stay."

She began to blush a bit at the look he was giving her, but she couldn't look away, caught up in his stare. Suddenly, she got up and began to walk to the other room in the apartment, her bedroom. "Stop playing with me, Uchiha-san." Her voice was harsh. "I do not appreciate it."

The smile that had been wiped off Sasuke's face when she had moved returned. She had seen though him again, even though his words to her were true. "Do you want me to leave?" he murmured.

She still hadn't turned around from where she was leaning against the door frame, facing away from him. "That would be desirable."

"Well then, good day Haku." he said with a slight bow.

"Good day, Sasuke-san."

She heard him walk across the room and open the door to let himself out.

"Wait, Sasuke-san."

He paused. "Hn?"

"Why didn't you start calling me Shiroi instead of sticking with my brother's name?"

Sasuke thought about that for a moment. "It seems more normal to me. More natural, cause that's how I know you." And then he closed the door with a parting 'click.'

Haku's back slid down the door frame and she looked up at the ceiling. He was a pure asshole, but why, for that one moment, had she believed he had meant what he had said? He might have gotten used to her, grown tolerant, but now he wanted her to stay?

And why hadn't he asked her the most important question? How was she still alive when Kakashi had shoved a Chidori clean through her chest? How was she even here after something that fatal had happened to her? Did he even know she had died in the first place?

She shook her head. No, he probably didn't know she had died, because he had never asked her how she was still living. Zabuza had cared for Haku like he was his own daughter, even though she was just a rat he had picked up off of the street. In return, she had learned to become his tool and obey his every command. He was running up to her from behind on her way to the gates of the Afterworld, guarded by the Shinigami.

He had pleaded to the Death God to give her a second chance at life because she had given up her life for him. As he had done this, Haku realized from reading copies of ancient scrolls handed down by the gods that one could be reanimated if they were pure of heart and had thrown away their life for someone without a second thought.

The Shinigami had found Haku to be in good favor and revived her in a forest o the shore of Fire Country. She had woken to discover the hole in her chest had been healed as well.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." Haku said as she stood up. Whether, she was referring to herself or Sasuke, she didn't know. Maybe…both.

* * *

**Hey, here's a little outtake from earlier in the story, back when I was still sketching it out. See, I had taken a few pieces of notebook paper and I wrote down notes about the storyline, what's going to happen, side-plots that feed into the main one etc. etc. and during this, I got kinda carried away with planning the ahem… NARUHINA confession scene. So, here, as an apology for me writing this chapter late, I bring you THE FIRST DRAFT. PREPARE TO ECOUNTER MUCH CHEEZYNESS AND CORNYNESS.

* * *

**

­­­­­­­­-Naruto has just hugged Hinata out of the blue while they are reading/ studying stuff that Yoshi has given them.-

"Na-…Naruto-kun? What are you doing?"

"Hugging you."

She would have laughed if she wasn't caught so off guard. He didn't move for a good full minute.

"A-Ano…" her heart was beating a mile a minute. "Are you ever going to let go of me?"

"No." he answered firmly. After a moments silence, "Not now and not ever."

"Why not?"

"I…I never want to leave you."

Hinata knew what he was saying somewhat subtly but it still wasn't going to register until she had regained her head. "Wha-what?"

"I'm in love with you. I don't know how else to say it. I've been in love with you since the time came here cause I was so scared that I was going to lose you because e of Kyuubi."

She was stunned. Never in her lifetime would she have ever expected those words to come from him.

"Hina-chan-…hime? Are you okay?" he loosened his grip so he could look at her. She had a bemused look on her face. He hugged her from the front this time. "Are you okay?" he repeated into her neck.

She suddenly latched onto him and began to cry into his shoulder.

He squeezed her tighter. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it so sudden-"

"Shhhh…" she managed to get out. "You did get me off guard there just, well… wow. You don't know how long I've waited to hear that Naruto-kun." A tear ran down the side of her face and the side of her mouth curved upwards into a smile. "You don't know… I'm not crying because I'm sad. I'm just so…happy. I'm thrilled because I can't remember a time when I wasn't in love with you. Even back then Academy…"

He nodded into her shoulder and impulsively kissed her neck, caught up in the moment. She shuddered. "I heard you singing one night. About snow, and it building up, like love." He laughed. "At any rate, when you went into your coma, I wanted to tell you when you woke up, that was if you did. I almost told you." he murmured, eyes half lidded and looking down at her lips. He wondered what it would be like to touch them with his own. He was already so close…

Promptly he mentally kicked himself. She probably wasn't ready for it yet. They hadn't even officially gotten together. But still, she was already so warm, her soft body pressed into his…

Hinata though, was thinking along the same lines, even though they weren't exactly coherent. All she could focus on was that he was just… so… close…and this must be a dream. This would never happen in real life. There was no other explanation.

"Naruto-kun…" she whispered. "Am I really… dreaming? Are you really…there?"

"I'm thinking the same thing… but no, I don't think so. Tell me if this is real then." he said, his voice husky. He bent in and kissed her just below her jaw line. He remained there, eyes closed, his breath beginning to come slowly faster. He kissed her jaw and kept kissing it to her chin, where he planted the longest kiss of all.

"Now tell me, was that real?" he drew back to look into her eyes. Eyes that were wide now with anticipation, with trust and requited love.

Coherency couldn't come fast enough to her. "Y…yea…yeah" it felt like each place he touched her was tingling, burning. She brought a hand up and cupped his face, running her thumb over his whisker-marks. She felt his face turn into her palm and nuzzle it, while his other arm slowly removed her hand from where it had grabbed a fistful of his shirt on his back and twined his fingers with hers. His other hand came up and took her hand from his face.

Quite truthfully, Naruto had no idea what he was doing. **(A/N: AND NEITHER DO I EL OH EL.)** He just followed what his instincts told him and his desire right now was to have this beautiful – the word right now barely scratched the surface of what she really was to him – girl here in his arms.

She on the other hand, had even less of an idea of what to do. She was frozen in all of this, unsure of herself. Her lips parted and her eyes became half-lidded, waiting for what might come…

"Naruto-kun…could you… hold still for a second? I wanna…try something."

She drew her hand slowly from his and placed them on either side of his face. Both of them blushed. She re positioned herself so she was kneeling. She ran her tongue briefly over her lips and leaned in, closing the distance between them.

She softly pressed her lips to his then drew back, hesitating, unsure if she should continue. Apparently, she should because he came back in slowly like she had before. As they kissed, his hands made their way to her waist and hers got knotted in his hair. He slowly laid her on her back, lips never breaking contact. He supported all his weight on one arm while his other hand ran up and down her curves.

Desperate for air, Hinata broke it off and he fell sideways, breathing hard.

"Wow…" he whispered.

"Wow." she agreed.

"So…" He wrapped his hand around hers and brought it up between them and propped himself up with his other elbow to look at her. She laid there, chest heaving and lips half parted. "I would ask you out right now, but quite frankly, there aren't any restaurants nearby." He laughed at the last part.

She smiled and Naruto's breath caught.

"So are we…y'know?"

* * *

**That's it. That's all I wrote before I stopped myself. It's a very sensual confession scene, no? O.o As I was typing this I was like "Did I seriously WRITE this?" XD Yeah. The reason why I omitted the kiss from the final confession scene was because A: I might get carried away like I kinda did here. :B It might seem like Naru and Hina were going a little fast.**

**I posted a massive Vampire Knight piece a week or two ago, and i urge thee to go and check it out before the next chapter of VK comes out. Tis a prediction!!!**

**I enjoy writing Sasuke and Haku's side of the story for some reason. I don't know why. Maybe its all the lively banter and pissed-off-ness that occurs frequently between them. =/**

**Until next time,**

**-IBP-**

**Next chapter: Handling the power of a demon is a lot like trying to divert a river or move a mountain. But each of those things is possible, if you know how to do it.  
**


	25. Road Block

**A/N: This is going up immediately my Beta readers (Sorry! ^^; ) because I want to get this out with no further delay. **

**I'm sorry (pshh when am I not? -_-) for this being two and half months late, but I am not a machine that can pump out chapters each month. With this one especially, I had roadblock on how to write this chapter. In addition, my enthusiasm for writing has gone down since writing the confession scene, so I had to muscle myself into writing this as well. As soon as I DID have enough enthusiasm to write, The end of the first marking period was looming on the horizon and I had to get my math and history grades up from Cs to at least a B-. The hard work paid off somewhat, as I got the B- in math but not for history. I got a C+ there. Thus when my dad repremanded me for not getting all As and Bs, my enthusiasm left me, and I focused on just school work.**

**Art is also eating up much of my free time, since A) that is the field of study I would like to make a living in, namely the section that deals with videogames, and B) I am in AP drawing, which means many projects that take a lot of time and effort. **

**Just be glad that this wasn't put on hiatus. I know the end to this story since it is in my head, but you guys don't. So now I am recording the story down on paper from my head so you guys can know too. That is my new purpose for writing this now.** **I am no longer writing for myself.**

**Enjoy. I threw in a few candies to make this a sweeter continuation.  
**

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**Chapter 25 – Road Block**

Naruto and Hinata sat cross-legged on the large rock at their cliff ledge that looked out over the mountains, back to back, meditating. This had become part of their training, where they would feel everything around them as far as they could reach with their chakra. "Listen to the thrum of nature around you. Become one." Yoshi had instructed them.

They would do this an hour before breakfast and after dinner. It felt familiar to when they went into the Amatsu Senzai (The Heavenly Garden) for the wood for their Soul Blades except this time, they could feel everything, from the few bugs still alive at the end of winter to the Bijuu within each other.

When the time was up, the sun had just barely cleared a nearby mountain ridge. They leapt off the rock and stood side by side in the clearing with their Soul Blades at their sides.

"Kata Ichi!"

Simultaneously drawing their swords in the first movement, the blocked someone on their left, then countered. They turned and blocked to the right in perfect synchronization, and continued on through the kata.

They performed eighteen katas like this, same with wide sweeping movements, other straightforward, a few moving only side to side. The purpose of the different movements was to train the body in the different movements it could perform with the varying speed, strength and softness of the movements to train in that aspect as well. It also trained the body on how to react to an attack, how to string together combinations of moves and which combinations were effective, which were awkward and which flowed well. Afterwards, Naruto and Hinata put chakra barriers around their sword's keen edges and began to spar.

"How many times do I need to tell you not to hold back?" Hinata complained a half hour later as they walked through the woods to breakfast.

Naruto smiled shamefully and stopped to hug her. "You know why."

Her face went slightly pink. He still had this effect on her, even after a month of being together. She hoped he would always have this effect on her.

She snorted a laugh at his poor excuse and hugged him tighter. She felt his arms squeeze her in response.

"Hey, Hina-chan." His deep tone made her look up at his face. His eyes were full of curiosity, like he wanted to try something.

And he did. Suddenly, he bent down and placed his lips on hers.

It was the sort of kiss where nobody knows what to do. You just want to show that you love the person. Their lips moved slowly and way out of synchronization, but it was sweet nonetheless and Hinata responded with just as much enthusiasm.

Hinata pulled away from him first. If the kiss had lasted any longer, she felt her heart would burst. "I never thought that this would happen." she whispered into his shoulder.

He smiled. "You didn't think a lot of things about me would ever happen."

"I know."

They didn't speak anymore as they walked back to the cottage, not because there was nothing to say, but because they were content just to be in silence together.

Yoshi berated them once they shook off the melting snow inside. "There you guys are. I almost thought I'd have to go get you because breakfast was getting cold."

After the breakfast dishes had been washed and put away, Yoshi stood with them in the middle of the clearing in front of the cottages. "Do either of you know what Sage chakra or Demon chakra is?"

They just stared at him, confusion written all over their faces.

Naruto broke into a grin. "Something that's super-special-awesome-mighty-cool powerful?"

Yoshi sighed, a corner of his mouth twitching up into a smile. "Sage chakra is taken from nature and channeled through your body. Demon chakra is just that, chakra from a demon, any demon. However, because its creator is not human, it is difficult and dangerous for a human to handle.

"You need to learn how to use and control both. The things you learn from handling Sage chakra will help you with the finer tuning of your Demon chakra, since you roughly know how to use it. And because you have been meditating, it will be easier for you to learn about Sage chakra. So," he said, jumping into the top of the nearest tree easily, "stand on the top of a tree and meditate. This time, pull in the chakra around you."

Naruto and Hinata climbed into adjacent trees and tried what he said, letting all their senses except for sight to take them over. Feeling out where the chakra was around them was not the obstacle and as expected, only finding out how to pull the nature chakra in was.

The difference was simple. Their chakra flowed through them through their chakra passageways and it acted on their command. Nature chakra is exactly that: natural. It flows freely from plants and animals that are unable to control it. For this reason it is not easily tamed, the reason why man is only able to control small patches of nature and how even then he does not have total control over it.

Yoshi could see the teenagers were having trouble. "You are a man trying to get to the heart of a mountain. Instead of trying to lift the mountain, find the caves that go to the center."

What did that mean? Naruto's mouth twitched, irritated. That man spoke in riddles like this sometimes. Really annoying ones too.

So he was a man. That made the mountain the nature chakra he was trying to access. Lifting a mountain was impossible as far as he knew, and apparently that was what he was unconsciously trying to do. The caves…what were these?

Caves, caves… the only thing that came to mind with the word 'cave' was the passageways that led to the Kyuubi's cage. A passageway. A pass. A path. The caves were paths to the goal. Caves were usually hard to find, so he had to look for these 'paths.'

Which left him right back where he started. Great.

'Well, think about it again.' Naruto told himself. However, he only came to the same conclusion as before, with no answer.

What was wrong then? Why could he not get it? Was there some small detail he had missed that had thrown him completely off course? 'Skip the riddle.' He thought. 'Find you r own way.'

Naruto made very little progress that day, and Hinata did not make much more than him.

She sat between Naruto's legs reading an old scroll on the nature of cat demons that Yoshi suggested she read with him reading over her shoulder on her side of the cottage during their free time after meditating that night, wrapped up in a blanket. Usually he would read right along with her, but he was too frustrated with himself to concentrate on the little words on paper. After the first year of training with his mother's family, he usually picked things up right away and had no trouble using them, so this was a harsh change of pace.

Hinata could feel his eyes boring a hole in the paper she held. This was no secret to her either. Sure, she was agitated like him but she was not angry about it. It would come to her in due time she believed.

She unrolled the scroll a bit more. "Naruto-kun, calm down please."

He rubbed his forehead against the back of her hair. "Hm?"

"You're angry. Please stop."

He settled his chin on her shoulder and pretended to be reading the scroll. "No I'm not."

"Yes you are. And you're not much of a liar, so don't even try." She turned a bit to look him in the eye. "I'm frustrated about this too, but I'm not getting worked up at myself over it. Calm down, okay?" She rubbed her head against his. "A Hokage needs to be a patient person with everything."

"Yeah." Naruto grumbled.

The next day did not yield any further progress either. Nor did the next.

Fed up, Naruto went to the cliffside clearing after training to think.

He had not missed and spots had he? Every avenue in his thought process had been explored and still none of it led him to the answer tot his "nature" chakra. The only conclusion he could come to as to why was he was he was not thinking in the right direction. However, he could not think of another way on how to comprehend it.

With his regular chakra, he would just move it through his body, sometimes unconsciously. Because it was second nature to him, he could not describe exactly how he manipulated it.

The nature chakra came from a foreign body, so it was a completely different story. There were no set rules to how it worked. You had to discover those rules on your own.

Suddenly, he sensed a familiar chakra coming up behind him. "It's late Naruto." Yoshi stepped out of the trees. "Get to bed, Hinata is worried about you."

"But-"

"I know how dedicated you are, but it is way past midnight. We three are going somewhere tomorrow and it will take a good part of the morning to get there."

"But I-"

"Naruto." His voice had that gentle but firm tone that parents often used.

Naruto took a deep breath through his nose, stood up, and followed his sensei back to their cottages. He opened the door and inside Hinata was curled up on her futon bed. He tried to be as quiet as possible so he would not wake her, but the faint 'click' of the door woke her. She stirred from her clump of blankets, sat up and searched for him with her sleepy eyes.

"Naruto-kun?" she mumbled.

She caught him just as he was about to go into his room. He turned back around and squatted down in front of her. "I'm right here." he said with a smile.

"Did-" – a yawn forced her to stop – "Did you figgre it out?"

"Nope. Not yet." He took her hand in his. "If I was Shikamaru I could."

"Hm." She paused. "Your hands are cold." She said halfheartedly.

He snorted with amusement and his smile grew a bit. "Well, I better get to bed. Goodnight Hinata." He squeezed her hand, kissed her head and stood up to leave.

Hinata did not let go of his hand. "Stay, S'cold tunnight."

"I'm going to make you cold."

"You're the cold one. I'mma warm you up." She still sounded half asleep.

On impulse, he let the less honorable part of himself decide on this, ignoring the protests of the side of him that knew this was not the right thing to agree to. "All right. I'll be right back."

Moments later, he came back in his slightly small pajamas and with a pillow under one arm. He left the stuffed fox back in his room. As he crawled into her bed, he realized that if her mind was not clouded, she would never suggest it in the first place and she did not blush for a second. Not when she asked, not when he got settled with his back to her chest under the covers.

She really was really warm.

Hinata squeezed his fingers which were wrapped around hers. "G'night Naruto-kun." She mumbled.

He kissed her hair. "Night Hina-chan. I love you."

"Love y'too…" she whispered back.

Thankfully the morning was not _that_ awkward.

Yoshi had planned a hot springs trip to a volcano twenty some miles away.

"These are the best springs I have ever been to." He explained on the way there. "The water is melt water from snow high up in the mountains so it has amazing rejuvenating properties. As soon as you step into the water, it is almost as it you are cured immediately."

Naruto enthusiastically jumped in as soon as he had stripped down to his boxers (it was so the men and women did not have to be separated, like in traditional springs). With a loud cry of "Fuck, that's HOT!!" he climbed just as quickly out, much to the laughter of Hinata and Yoshi when they emerged from changing in the trees.

Yoshi had a strip of cloth wrapped around his groin and waist in the traditional style. Hinata immediately turned from pale to pink when she caught Naruto staring at her chest, which was only covered by a bra. She quickly sat in the water up to her neck before his eyes wandered down to her panties, which were thankfully modest from year of strict formality in the Hyuuga household.

Naruto hurriedly plopped himself down on the edge of the pool with the water up to his knees next to her, but faced away so he would not be tempted to steal a peek.

Watching the young lovers discover this possible aspect of their relationship was quite funny, and Yoshi just had to laugh.

"Whaaat?" Naruto complained, turning red.

Yoshi just shook his head. "Oh!" I almost forgot. We have not had lunch yet." He strolled back into the trees.

Naruto, frowning, slipped into the water next to Hinata, which only reached up to his shoulders. She automatically leaned into him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they waited, for the first time since they got together, awkwardly in silence.

A minute later, they were hungrily wolfing down their lunch. Once they were done, Yoshi launched into another legend.

"After Orochi was defeated by the Kyuubi, he slunk away to a corner of the world to nurse his wounds and recuperate. This took a while, even with the Kusanagi sword, which he still had.

"Once he was fully healed, he dared not challenge the Kyuubi again for fear of being completely obliterated.

"Around this time, Susanno-wo descended from Heaven after being banished from deceiving Amaretsu. He descended down to a place near the waters of the River Hi. He heard sound to someone crying in grief and sought out the source. He came upon an old man and his wife weeping at the riverbank, with their daughter between them.

"'Who are ye?' Susanno-wo asked.

"'I am an Earth Deity, son of the Deity Great-Mountain-Possessor. My name is Foot-Stroking-Elder and this is my wife, Hand-Stroking-Elder. My daughter is known by Wondrous-Inada-Princess.' the old man replied.

"'Why dost thou weep?' Susanno-wo asked.

"'Wondrous-Inada-Princess is the last of my eight daughters, the seven before her devoured one every spring by the eight-forked serpent Yamato-no-Orochi. The time of year is drawing near for her sacrifice, thus we show our grief.'

"'what dost the beast appear to be?' Susanno-wo asked. Foot-Stroking-Elder then described Yamato-no-Orochi to him. 'If I help thou rid thyself of this beast, will thou offer thy daughter to me?'

"'With reverence,' he replied, yet I know not thine name.'

"'I am the brother of the goddesses of the Sun and Moon. Thus I have descended from Heaven.'

"'If that be true, we offer her with reverence to thee.'

"Then Susanno-wo changed Wondrous-Inada-Princess into a beautiful comb, which he stuck in his hair for safekeeping. Then he said to them 'Distill some eight-fold refined sake, then build a fence with eight gates with eight platforms. Upon each platform place a liquor-vat and in each vat fill it with the eight-fold refined sake and wait.'

"Thus they did as they were instructed and Orochi eventually came. It drank to the bottom of each vat and slept soundly and drunkenly. Susanno-wo drew his great saber and cut the great beast into pieces. When he came to the middle tail, he found it could not be cut. So he slit it open and found the Kusanagi sword, which he respectfully gave to Amaretsu.

"Thus the snake worshipers learned of their god's death, the recovered the pieces of his body and sealed his spirit in a lantern. They place this lantern in their temple and worship it.

"Hundred of years pass. Shinobi and the Shinobi arts rise to power. The lantern look just as it did the day Orochi was sealed within it and as such gains a legendary quality to it, since time changes the beliefs of the human heart.

"Then, around half a century ago, a radical priest of the Orochi cult sealed the snake's spirit into an unborn child, who still had at least a month before he was to be born.

"Since then, I know not what has happened to the spirit of Yamato no Orochi, just that the child that he was fused with is most likely still alive somewhere."

"I don't think that's right. We would know of this snake child wouldn't we? Especially if they have that sort of power." commented Hinata. "There's just something off about it."

Yoshi sighed. "Well at least you are taking it as the truth, not just a fancy story."

Naruto thought he saw a flaw. "Yoshi-san, if Orochi the Hachibi, was sealed in a child before birth wouldn't that make him a Jinjuuriki, like us?"

"There is a difference here than what happened to your friend Gaara-san. First off, this spirit was sealed into the child quite some time before his birth, giving it some time to fuse into the developing one of the child. Gaara-san was very well formed when the Ichibi was sealed into him and only had a very very short time until he was to be born. Second off, the spirit of Orochi was already marred since his body had been cut into pieces. All of the other Bijuu's spirits were whole, just separate from their physical bodies."

"…I guess I get it now, but Hina-chan is right. We don't know any snake-spirit child and I think we would if there was one."

Hinata half-turned to her boyfriend. "Naruto-kun, the child would be in its fifties or sixties right now. Their powers would be well known at this point."

"Naruto, Hinata, calm down! I told you that myth so you would remember it for your studies. There is no need to debate the finer aspects of it. Many things are lost over time, such as accuracy of what might have really happened. Come on, get into deeper water" Yoshi waded into the pool until he was standing neck deep. "We are here to relax, remember?"

The teenagers got up and waded in, holding hands. "Relax." Yoshi looked at Naruto with a rather severe and knowing look in his eye. "Submerge yourself in the water and let it take over every sense in your body. Almost let it become a part of you."

Hinata closed her eyes and sighed. "This feels good…"

Naruto relaxed everything. He felt the water all around his body and the heat from the water. He smelled the steam rising off the surface of the pool. He heard the near perfect silence of the surrounding forest. He could nearly taste the crisp air on his tongue.

His shoulders relaxed and his arms went limp. A funny feeling crept up his spine and spread out in his whole body. It felt… inhuman. Alien.

He remained still, letting it fill up within him. It was peaceful, yet powerful. Even more powerful than his own chakra.

"Y-Yoshi-san! Why does Naruto look like a frog?!" Hinata gasped.

His eyes opened in alarm. "Eh?!" He scrambled out of the water and stood on a rock at the edge of the pool. As soon as the ripples died down, he nearly fell in at the sight of his own reflection.

He looked like himself…well…nearly. His eyes were yellow with horizontal slits, like a frog. He had black rings around his eyes, like a frog. His nose was somewhat squashed, just like a frog.

"What is this?!" he protested loudly at his sensei. "Why do I look like stupid frog? Is this some kind of joke?!"

Yoshi had a smug smile on his lips. "Congratulations."

Naruto stopped. "Huh?"

"You just learned how to bring Sage chakra into your body."

It took a second to sink in. the next second, he was whooping and hollering loudly, performing an inverted version of some dance.

"I just learned Sage chakra, Sage chakra, Sage chakra! I just learned Sage chakra! Yeah!" He ended in a thumbs-up pose.

Hinata giggled at him as he jumped back into the water. She squeaked in alarm when he picked her up and spun her around in his arms. "I did iiiiiit." he whispered when he touched his forehead to hers.

She laughed. "Now you have to teach me, Mr. Frog."

"Like I wouldn't?" He turned to Yoshi. "Hey, why do I look like frog?"

"Can you summon frogs?"

"Mhmm."

"What you can summon is usually what you may partially turn into when you use Sage chakra. Hinata-san, can you summon anything?"

She shook her head. "My family doesn't own any summoning contracts."

"Then when you master this, you may change though since you have no animal connections aside from your Bijuu, you will turn more into a…true form of yourself. We will have to see though."

"So how does my summoning contract determine what I turn into?" Naruto asked.

"Summons are animals, and thus very in tune with and a part of nature. So, they are a medium for Sage chakra. It's as simple as that."

"Interesting." Naruto said. He turned back to Hinata, eyes brimming with happiness.

Yoshi climbed out of the water with a barely hidden smile. "Excuse me. I have to go relive myself."

Neither of the teens heard anything past the first two words, since the world had disappeared the second their lips met.

* * *

**A/N: More legends will follow and the pieces are beginning to fall into place. I really like how I am going to incorporate the mythology into this. :D**

**It should be obvious who the snake-child is. Shame on you if you don't know.**

**Don't expect another chapter in a month. The wait time between updates will vary from now on since school and art are the new priorites.**

**Until next time,**

**-IBP-**

**Next Chapter: The third party begins to piece together what is the motive of 'Akatsuki.' It does not brighten up the sky of the future; it only makes it darker.  
**


	26. NOTICE

Hey everybody.

I haven't updated this story in a while for two reasons:

1. Life has been happening. I am on the fencing team, and varsity at that. The whole season has been a roller coaster ride for me, missing practices and meets for various reasons, having 3-4 meets a week (they go after school until 6:30 pm- 9:00 pm) thus barely having time to even do my homework. Being in AP Drawing, the projects are higher in quality that I have to do, thus more time consuming, so they take up any free time I might have after I am done with traditional homework.

And since I vowed to myself at the beginning of the school year to do better this year than previous year (for college and personal reasons), I haven't found a class where I don't have to pay attention and write freely and still get an A or not have the teacher tell me to "stay on task in class." So that limits my writing time down to after school, yet all that time is being eaten up by homework, as mentioned above.

2. HERE'S A SPOILER FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER: SASUKE AND OROCHIMARU ARE GOING TO HAVE A BADASS FIGHT. And it is for this reason that I am having trouble writing when I DO find a few minutes here and there to write. You see, with Sasuke, I don't know his character inside-out. Meaning, I don't know his fighting style. I don't know the full scope of his abilities. Sure, I have a general idea of what he can do but nothing definite. This makes the borders of his skills hard, so I'm going to have to re-read the fight with Deidara in the actual series to get a feeling of how far he progressed.

With Oro, I don't know how he fights or what his abilities are. (All I know is that he uses snakes. A lot. XD ) I read the manga, but I can't remember what his techniques were. ;-; Ohhh damn. Time for another approximate-adjacent-timeline-abilities-evaluation. :D

So Ch. 26 might be out by mid-March. No promises though. I've been developing a drawing bug lately. XD

I love you all. I won't drop this story. I promise it will be finished. DATTEBAYO!!

-IBP


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